The end of another month! What!

I know for those who are expecting babies, the time is not going so fast, but for us, it feels like middle of January, not end of February.
Saturday the cleaning lady came.  I know.  I have a cleaning lady come once a month to clean the bathroom, mop floors and clean the fans and rugs.  It is almost two hours, for P200 which equals about $5 and that is more than most people make in a day here, so she is happy.  They want us to have house help so we can pay people.  It is nice except that I don't have much to do but read in the bedroom when she comes.
The toilet is broken but we are used to dumping water to flush.  Oh, is this too much information?:) Anyway, after all that, we went to Arevalo, the mission office to return one set of license plates that we were given.  While there, we found out another missionary in our district is sick, so we went home and made chicken/noodle soup with ginger, salt, chicken, onion, carrots and spinach noodles.  Elder Eneje is sick also. We took him soup yesterday, plus calamansi drink with honey.  Sister Cagape gave us the calamansi from her chicken farm so we just squeezed away.  They are very small fruits but have some juice that is very good and healthy.  The missionaries have had high fevers.  It has been so sad.  Later we went to the Center and met with City Ward bishop, his specialist, plus three but then the Bishop just left.  They wanted "My Path" in one hour.  I guess they don't understand the program and the language barrier is not helping and this stake does not have a specialist to assist, so the program is suffering in Iloilo Stake.
Sunday we attended Mandurreao Ward at 8:30; took Sister Cagape with us at 10 to North Stake Conference.  It was a Sunday of feasting.  There was a visiting authority, Elder Novleza; he is Filipino.  What I understood was so inspiring.  "Feast" upon the words of Christ:  feast--eat more than usual, not how many times you read, but how much you take inside(absorb).  And the Holy Ghost ...keep the commandments and He will bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.  How can it be brought to your remembrance if you have not read and pondered?  FHE
Are you having it?  Every week?  And then a TO DO list:  ...... check, Check, Check.
TO BE LIST:  part of your nature, your character.  It cannot be checked off but must be worked at diligently(consistent, steady, earnest, energetic effort). PMG 6 attributes
TO DO/TO BE equals interdependent doctrine.
Another talk was about "conversion" :  when we are converted, we carry the love of God within us.  Am I in the process of conversion?  Give up all that I have--all my sins ....to know Jesus Christ.  It is not easy but it is worth it.  Push ourselves; be diligent.  A story was told about Elder Bednar and a blessing he was about to give and he asked the sick, "Do you have the faith to be healed?" "Yes." "Do you have the faith NOT to be healed?"  To accept God's will.  After all that, Sister Cagape fed us at her apartment along with all the missionaries from our district.  Then we returned to LaPaz and did "My Path" with about 20 plus.  There was a young mutual-aged girl I handed a booklet to and the couple by her grabbed it from her and said to me, "She can't read".  Her head dropped and she just looked down.  My heart was just crushed with hers.  I found a "Foundations" booklet.  It has some small pictures in it and I took it to her to look at.  The couple grabbed that from her.  They looked at it and I went back and retrieved it and handed it to the girl again and asked "Can she look at pictures?"  I thought they were her parents but as I inquired, they said, "no" her mother is that older lady and they pointed her out.  I spoke with her mother.  She said she had given her birth at 41, so she has disabilities.  I told her I had given birth at 42 and 45 and both those children are serving missions right now!  She is not to blame but The Lord gave her this daughter, a gift of purity to be returned to her Father in Heaven.  She has a strong, good, loving heart.  It occurred to me later how the unkindness had affected my whole experience with the devotional.  Whatever the girls' disabilities, she has feelings and knows and feels when others are unkind.  It brought me back to my previous thought:  "When we are converted, we carry the love of God within us."
Monday we went into the Center and talked with the little Perry's on hangouts and then President Aquino called us in.  The Session couple is going home for health reasons after one year!  We will miss them.  They are the longest serving couple here.  Then we went shopping for fruits to make into a salad as we were invited to Cuzzens for a farewell dinner for Nat tonight.  Brother Cuzzens is an American and she is Filipino. Their daughter, Aiko is part Japanese/Filipino, and her friend Nathan Gustilo has been a member one year and his talks sound like a returned missionary.  He is going to Cayagan, Philippines Mission.  Brother Cuzzens has been a contractor and has worked all over the world...sometimes in the Middle East.  He has some scary stories.  He entertained us about five hours with stories and of course, a house tour with all the remodeling and mud flood details from the "Frank" typhoon in which a dam broke.
Tuesday we had district meeting then the district went to eat but we didn't have time.  We had English testing and preparing for Boiser.  We met with all the couples at the mission office and when the testing was done, we went to the Promenade, top of the Atrium, to eat together for the last time with Sessions.  We ate and visited for a short time and we had to go to the Center for our meeting.  At the meeting, it was announced that the Cadiz couple, PEF, were released as service missionaries.  Boiser suggested that we might be transferred to Antique where the Sessions were and do our work from there.  I was excited.  They live in a real house, nice too.  And they have Internet that works!  Ray couldn't sleep.  He doesn't like change and doesn't want to move.  We both thought the Mission President would ask us to move, but he didn't so...  I think he doesn't know he can make that request.
Wednesday in the Jalandoni church, the Institute and Center, Boiser did training from 9-5 with meal and snack breaks, attending were Roxas 5, Kalibo 5, Iloilo North 5, Antique 5, Guimaras 0, Iloilo 3 am and 1pm. I was disappointed in Iloilo for not showing up well.  Boiser talked in Ilongo so they all enjoyed it.  He is very entertaining.  He brought his wife's brother for a chef.  The food was great!  He used our little kitchen to prepare.

This week (Week 16)

Look, I'm super creative ^ haha.  There's not that much to report really.  We were very blessed to find a lot of people at home this week so we taught a lot of lessons.  Many of them let us set up appointments for this upcoming week so that is always exciting. We have one appointment on almost every day.  A lot of them are with less active or part member families.  A couple of them seem pretty promising.  We had a lesson with Sister Alger, who has been less active for about 5 years from what I understand.  It was the first time we ever met her but we got on with her really well.  She liked us quite a bit and showed us all around her house, which looks like a doll house.  It's adorable.  She also does really incredible crafty things and paints these really unique mosaic-looking wood panels.  She's pretty cool.  Sister Tu'atonga and I both spoke in church, I spoke on repentance and it went pretty well I think.  One of the members asked me for the quotes I used.  Sister Alger came!  And we did not tell her we were speaking but she told Sister Tu'atonga she just came because of us.  I'd rather she came because we strengthened her testimony...but I'll take what I can get! 

I also got the most over-fed I have this week.  We went for dinner with this sweet sister in the ward.  She dished us up for some reason.  She made this creole shrimp with rice.  It was really yummy but she gave us this massive pile of rice.  I assumed I was expected to eat all of it so I was almost finished and was very sick when I realized that the member was done and she ate about half of it.  Ugh!  I pushed myself for no reason!  And then after I was full to bursting she gave us a gigantic slice of carrot cake (which was also really yummy).  I was seriously so sick.  And then the next day we had a really late lunch because we were at service and then had dinner about an hour and a half later and they had us make personal pizzas...except it was an entire pizza.  Just for me.  They did say I could take home whatever I didn't eat though, so I knew they didn't expect me to eat it all.  But after I already over-ate just so they didn't think I hated it then they gave us a gigantic bowl of ice cream.  That really put me over the edge.  Lucky me. Yesterday I was fed lunch but it was salad and then dinner was fish and rice so that sort of balanced things out I'm hoping. :)

We met this guy that we just saw working on his property and felt prompted to go talk to him.  It turned out he was a less active member whose records weren't in our ward so we were pretty excited to have found him.  He expressed a desire to come back to church and told us he knew he had things to do to be temple worthy again, etc.  We were feeling awesome about it.  Well then it turns out that he and his "wife" still technically are separated and she was recently reactivated in our ward.  Our ward council basically told us this guy is insane and dangerous.  So we're not really sure what to think about that.  He seemed so sincere.  I was pretty much in tears talking to him.  I don't want to be naive but sometimes I think missionaries come in and out just so someone is there with fresh eyes to give people second chances.  We'll see how things go.  We also taught some less active members that basically said they love everything about the church but that as they were teaching primary they didn't feel right teaching about Joseph Smith and the D&C.  They think Joseph Smith wasn't even a good person so they prayed about it and left the church.  I don't really know what to do with that.  They think the church is good and the Book of Mormon is good.  By their fruits ye shall know them!  It was sad.  I am thankful to have a testimony of the gospel that is strong enough to overcome concerns with faith.  Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith!  Love you all!

Sister Robinson

This week (Week 16)

Look, I'm super creative ^ haha.  There's not that much to report really.  We were very blessed to find a lot of people at home this week so we taught a lot of lessons.  Many of them let us set up appointments for this upcoming week so that is always exciting. We have one appointment on almost every day.  A lot of them are with less active or part member families.  A couple of them seem pretty promising.  We had a lesson with Sister Alger, who has been less active for about 5 years from what I understand.  It was the first time we ever met her but we got on with her really well.  She liked us quite a bit and showed us all around her house, which looks like a doll house.  It's adorable.  She also does really incredible crafty things and paints these really unique mosaic-looking wood panels.  She's pretty cool.  Sister Tu'atonga and I both spoke in church, I spoke on repentance and it went pretty well I think.  One of the members asked me for the quotes I used.  Sister Alger came!  And we did not tell her we were speaking but she told Sister Tu'atonga she just came because of us.  I'd rather she came because we strengthened her testimony...but I'll take what I can get! 

I also got the most over-fed I have this week.  We went for dinner with this sweet sister in the ward.  She dished us up for some reason.  She made this creole shrimp with rice.  It was really yummy but she gave us this massive pile of rice.  I assumed I was expected to eat all of it so I was almost finished and was very sick when I realized that the member was done and she ate about half of it.  Ugh!  I pushed myself for no reason!  And then after I was full to bursting she gave us a gigantic slice of carrot cake (which was also really yummy).  I was seriously so sick.  And then the next day we had a really late lunch because we were at service and then had dinner about an hour and a half later and they had us make personal pizzas...except it was an entire pizza.  Just for me.  They did say I could take home whatever I didn't eat though, so I knew they didn't expect me to eat it all.  But after I already over-ate just so they didn't think I hated it then they gave us a gigantic bowl of ice cream.  That really put me over the edge.  Lucky me. Yesterday I was fed lunch but it was salad and then dinner was fish and rice so that sort of balanced things out I'm hoping. :)

We met this guy that we just saw working on his property and felt prompted to go talk to him.  It turned out he was a less active member whose records weren't in our ward so we were pretty excited to have found him.  He expressed a desire to come back to church and told us he knew he had things to do to be temple worthy again, etc.  We were feeling awesome about it.  Well then it turns out that he and his "wife" still technically are separated and she was recently reactivated in our ward.  Our ward council basically told us this guy is insane and dangerous.  So we're not really sure what to think about that.  He seemed so sincere.  I was pretty much in tears talking to him.  I don't want to be naive but sometimes I think missionaries come in and out just so someone is there with fresh eyes to give people second chances.  We'll see how things go.  We also taught some less active members that basically said they love everything about the church but that as they were teaching primary they didn't feel right teaching about Joseph Smith and the D&C.  They think Joseph Smith wasn't even a good person so they prayed about it and left the church.  I don't really know what to do with that.  They think the church is good and the Book of Mormon is good.  By their fruits ye shall know them!  It was sad.  I am thankful to have a testimony of the gospel that is strong enough to overcome concerns with faith.  Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith!  Love you all!

Sister Robinson

This week (Week 16)

Look, I'm super creative ^ haha.  There's not that much to report really.  We were very blessed to find a lot of people at home this week so we taught a lot of lessons.  Many of them let us set up appointments for this upcoming week so that is always exciting. We have one appointment on almost every day.  A lot of them are with less active or part member families.  A couple of them seem pretty promising.  We had a lesson with Sister Alger, who has been less active for about 5 years from what I understand.  It was the first time we ever met her but we got on with her really well.  She liked us quite a bit and showed us all around her house, which looks like a doll house.  It's adorable.  She also does really incredible crafty things and paints these really unique mosaic-looking wood panels.  She's pretty cool.  Sister Tu'atonga and I both spoke in church, I spoke on repentance and it went pretty well I think.  One of the members asked me for the quotes I used.  Sister Alger came!  And we did not tell her we were speaking but she told Sister Tu'atonga she just came because of us.  I'd rather she came because we strengthened her testimony...but I'll take what I can get! 

I also got the most over-fed I have this week.  We went for dinner with this sweet sister in the ward.  She dished us up for some reason.  She made this creole shrimp with rice.  It was really yummy but she gave us this massive pile of rice.  I assumed I was expected to eat all of it so I was almost finished and was very sick when I realized that the member was done and she ate about half of it.  Ugh!  I pushed myself for no reason!  And then after I was full to bursting she gave us a gigantic slice of carrot cake (which was also really yummy).  I was seriously so sick.  And then the next day we had a really late lunch because we were at service and then had dinner about an hour and a half later and they had us make personal pizzas...except it was an entire pizza.  Just for me.  They did say I could take home whatever I didn't eat though, so I knew they didn't expect me to eat it all.  But after I already over-ate just so they didn't think I hated it then they gave us a gigantic bowl of ice cream.  That really put me over the edge.  Lucky me. Yesterday I was fed lunch but it was salad and then dinner was fish and rice so that sort of balanced things out I'm hoping. :)

We met this guy that we just saw working on his property and felt prompted to go talk to him.  It turned out he was a less active member whose records weren't in our ward so we were pretty excited to have found him.  He expressed a desire to come back to church and told us he knew he had things to do to be temple worthy again, etc.  We were feeling awesome about it.  Well then it turns out that he and his "wife" still technically are separated and she was recently reactivated in our ward.  Our ward council basically told us this guy is insane and dangerous.  So we're not really sure what to think about that.  He seemed so sincere.  I was pretty much in tears talking to him.  I don't want to be naive but sometimes I think missionaries come in and out just so someone is there with fresh eyes to give people second chances.  We'll see how things go.  We also taught some less active members that basically said they love everything about the church but that as they were teaching primary they didn't feel right teaching about Joseph Smith and the D&C.  They think Joseph Smith wasn't even a good person so they prayed about it and left the church.  I don't really know what to do with that.  They think the church is good and the Book of Mormon is good.  By their fruits ye shall know them!  It was sad.  I am thankful to have a testimony of the gospel that is strong enough to overcome concerns with faith.  Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith!  Love you all!

Sister Robinson

El Dorado (Week15)

February 16, 2015
Well, I will just start by saying that nothing has been as bad as I expected.  Still hard, but not as bad as I thought.  So that's always good!  We live in a mansion.  Well that's what Sister Tu'atonga says.   It's actually not really what I would call a mansion, but it is a big fancy house and in their backyard they have a pool and two trampolines and it's really fancy.  I now sleep in a full-size bed.  I'm getting super spoiled! I am simultaneously starving because it is a pain and takes forever to take food from  our tiny fridge upstairs to the kitchen downstairs and I feel uncomfortable in someone else's fancy kitchen.  But it's probably a good thing that I am not eating very much because I can't bike AT ALL so hopefully it balances out. :)  

El Dorado feels like a foreign land haha. It's just a million bazillion trees and if you hike through the trees a ways you can find some houses.  Everyone lives in gated communities so you drive through the gate (which has a gate code) and then several miles away is the gate at the "back" of the  community.  We live in...Greenstone?  I think that's what ours is called.  It is about 10-15 minutes to drive out of our "neighborhood" community place.  It's super hilly and the roads are narrow but I am getting better at driving on them.  It's hard in the dark because there are no street lamps but I am getting better.  Fortunately Sister Tu'atonga knows the area really well so she navigates.  Not a day goes by that I don't almost hit and kill a squirrel or rabbit.  There is wildlife everywhere!  And deer.  More than in Bountiful, even.  It's rather charming.  The house we live in is way up on a hill so we have a nice view and the stars at night are so bright and clear!  It's super pretty.  So that's all great.  Our ward and Stake are very missionary minded.  The first night we had a missionary "transfer" dinner where the stake leadership and the ward missionaries have dinner with our whole El Dorado zone.  They really are very focused on missionary work so that is really cool and exciting.  People here LOVE the missionaries.  Everyone in the ward was very anxious to meet me. I'm not sure I reciprocated the excitement that well because I was feeling seriously shell shocked but hopefully I did ok with meeting everyone.

On Sunday we taught Gospel Principles, and Young Women's.  Our lesson in Young Women's was AWFUL.  It made no sense at all.  We were just everywhere.  No unity in our teaching.  It was bad.  Sister Tu'atonga thought it went well.  I'm not really sure what to do.  But I will make it work!  We will learn to teach well together!  Somehow.  Next Sunday we are giving talks.  So I am now just going to plan on speaking in church about every six weeks because it seems to be the thing to do to ask the missionaries to speak.

Anyway, that's about it.  It's really beautiful here.  I'm homesick for Galt, but I'm sure it will feel like home here before too long.  This is a really boring email so sorry.  Hopefully I'll come up with something interesting to talk about next week!  I'm attaching pictures of where we are staying.  There will be more next time, but this is what I have so far.  Have a good week!

Sister Robinson

El Dorado (Week15)

February 16, 2015
Well, I will just start by saying that nothing has been as bad as I expected.  Still hard, but not as bad as I thought.  So that's always good!  We live in a mansion.  Well that's what Sister Tu'atonga says.   It's actually not really what I would call a mansion, but it is a big fancy house and in their backyard they have a pool and two trampolines and it's really fancy.  I now sleep in a full-size bed.  I'm getting super spoiled! I am simultaneously starving because it is a pain and takes forever to take food from  our tiny fridge upstairs to the kitchen downstairs and I feel uncomfortable in someone else's fancy kitchen.  But it's probably a good thing that I am not eating very much because I can't bike AT ALL so hopefully it balances out. :)  

El Dorado feels like a foreign land haha. It's just a million bazillion trees and if you hike through the trees a ways you can find some houses.  Everyone lives in gated communities so you drive through the gate (which has a gate code) and then several miles away is the gate at the "back" of the  community.  We live in...Greenstone?  I think that's what ours is called.  It is about 10-15 minutes to drive out of our "neighborhood" community place.  It's super hilly and the roads are narrow but I am getting better at driving on them.  It's hard in the dark because there are no street lamps but I am getting better.  Fortunately Sister Tu'atonga knows the area really well so she navigates.  Not a day goes by that I don't almost hit and kill a squirrel or rabbit.  There is wildlife everywhere!  And deer.  More than in Bountiful, even.  It's rather charming.  The house we live in is way up on a hill so we have a nice view and the stars at night are so bright and clear!  It's super pretty.  So that's all great.  Our ward and Stake are very missionary minded.  The first night we had a missionary "transfer" dinner where the stake leadership and the ward missionaries have dinner with our whole El Dorado zone.  They really are very focused on missionary work so that is really cool and exciting.  People here LOVE the missionaries.  Everyone in the ward was very anxious to meet me. I'm not sure I reciprocated the excitement that well because I was feeling seriously shell shocked but hopefully I did ok with meeting everyone.

On Sunday we taught Gospel Principles, and Young Women's.  Our lesson in Young Women's was AWFUL.  It made no sense at all.  We were just everywhere.  No unity in our teaching.  It was bad.  Sister Tu'atonga thought it went well.  I'm not really sure what to do.  But I will make it work!  We will learn to teach well together!  Somehow.  Next Sunday we are giving talks.  So I am now just going to plan on speaking in church about every six weeks because it seems to be the thing to do to ask the missionaries to speak.

Anyway, that's about it.  It's really beautiful here.  I'm homesick for Galt, but I'm sure it will feel like home here before too long.  This is a really boring email so sorry.  Hopefully I'll come up with something interesting to talk about next week!  I'm attaching pictures of where we are staying.  There will be more next time, but this is what I have so far.  Have a good week!

Sister Robinson

El Dorado (Week15)

February 16, 2015
Well, I will just start by saying that nothing has been as bad as I expected.  Still hard, but not as bad as I thought.  So that's always good!  We live in a mansion.  Well that's what Sister Tu'atonga says.   It's actually not really what I would call a mansion, but it is a big fancy house and in their backyard they have a pool and two trampolines and it's really fancy.  I now sleep in a full-size bed.  I'm getting super spoiled! I am simultaneously starving because it is a pain and takes forever to take food from  our tiny fridge upstairs to the kitchen downstairs and I feel uncomfortable in someone else's fancy kitchen.  But it's probably a good thing that I am not eating very much because I can't bike AT ALL so hopefully it balances out. :)  

El Dorado feels like a foreign land haha. It's just a million bazillion trees and if you hike through the trees a ways you can find some houses.  Everyone lives in gated communities so you drive through the gate (which has a gate code) and then several miles away is the gate at the "back" of the  community.  We live in...Greenstone?  I think that's what ours is called.  It is about 10-15 minutes to drive out of our "neighborhood" community place.  It's super hilly and the roads are narrow but I am getting better at driving on them.  It's hard in the dark because there are no street lamps but I am getting better.  Fortunately Sister Tu'atonga knows the area really well so she navigates.  Not a day goes by that I don't almost hit and kill a squirrel or rabbit.  There is wildlife everywhere!  And deer.  More than in Bountiful, even.  It's rather charming.  The house we live in is way up on a hill so we have a nice view and the stars at night are so bright and clear!  It's super pretty.  So that's all great.  Our ward and Stake are very missionary minded.  The first night we had a missionary "transfer" dinner where the stake leadership and the ward missionaries have dinner with our whole El Dorado zone.  They really are very focused on missionary work so that is really cool and exciting.  People here LOVE the missionaries.  Everyone in the ward was very anxious to meet me. I'm not sure I reciprocated the excitement that well because I was feeling seriously shell shocked but hopefully I did ok with meeting everyone.

On Sunday we taught Gospel Principles, and Young Women's.  Our lesson in Young Women's was AWFUL.  It made no sense at all.  We were just everywhere.  No unity in our teaching.  It was bad.  Sister Tu'atonga thought it went well.  I'm not really sure what to do.  But I will make it work!  We will learn to teach well together!  Somehow.  Next Sunday we are giving talks.  So I am now just going to plan on speaking in church about every six weeks because it seems to be the thing to do to ask the missionaries to speak.

Anyway, that's about it.  It's really beautiful here.  I'm homesick for Galt, but I'm sure it will feel like home here before too long.  This is a really boring email so sorry.  Hopefully I'll come up with something interesting to talk about next week!  I'm attaching pictures of where we are staying.  There will be more next time, but this is what I have so far.  Have a good week!

Sister Robinson

El Dorado (Week15)

February 16, 2015
Well, I will just start by saying that nothing has been as bad as I expected.  Still hard, but not as bad as I thought.  So that's always good!  We live in a mansion.  Well that's what Sister Tu'atonga says.   It's actually not really what I would call a mansion, but it is a big fancy house and in their backyard they have a pool and two trampolines and it's really fancy.  I now sleep in a full-size bed.  I'm getting super spoiled! I am simultaneously starving because it is a pain and takes forever to take food from  our tiny fridge upstairs to the kitchen downstairs and I feel uncomfortable in someone else's fancy kitchen.  But it's probably a good thing that I am not eating very much because I can't bike AT ALL so hopefully it balances out. :)  

El Dorado feels like a foreign land haha. It's just a million bazillion trees and if you hike through the trees a ways you can find some houses.  Everyone lives in gated communities so you drive through the gate (which has a gate code) and then several miles away is the gate at the "back" of the  community.  We live in...Greenstone?  I think that's what ours is called.  It is about 10-15 minutes to drive out of our "neighborhood" community place.  It's super hilly and the roads are narrow but I am getting better at driving on them.  It's hard in the dark because there are no street lamps but I am getting better.  Fortunately Sister Tu'atonga knows the area really well so she navigates.  Not a day goes by that I don't almost hit and kill a squirrel or rabbit.  There is wildlife everywhere!  And deer.  More than in Bountiful, even.  It's rather charming.  The house we live in is way up on a hill so we have a nice view and the stars at night are so bright and clear!  It's super pretty.  So that's all great.  Our ward and Stake are very missionary minded.  The first night we had a missionary "transfer" dinner where the stake leadership and the ward missionaries have dinner with our whole El Dorado zone.  They really are very focused on missionary work so that is really cool and exciting.  People here LOVE the missionaries.  Everyone in the ward was very anxious to meet me. I'm not sure I reciprocated the excitement that well because I was feeling seriously shell shocked but hopefully I did ok with meeting everyone.

On Sunday we taught Gospel Principles, and Young Women's.  Our lesson in Young Women's was AWFUL.  It made no sense at all.  We were just everywhere.  No unity in our teaching.  It was bad.  Sister Tu'atonga thought it went well.  I'm not really sure what to do.  But I will make it work!  We will learn to teach well together!  Somehow.  Next Sunday we are giving talks.  So I am now just going to plan on speaking in church about every six weeks because it seems to be the thing to do to ask the missionaries to speak.

Anyway, that's about it.  It's really beautiful here.  I'm homesick for Galt, but I'm sure it will feel like home here before too long.  This is a really boring email so sorry.  Hopefully I'll come up with something interesting to talk about next week!  I'm attaching pictures of where we are staying.  There will be more next time, but this is what I have so far.  Have a good week!

Sister Robinson

El Dorado (Week15)

February 16, 2015
Well, I will just start by saying that nothing has been as bad as I expected.  Still hard, but not as bad as I thought.  So that's always good!  We live in a mansion.  Well that's what Sister Tu'atonga says.   It's actually not really what I would call a mansion, but it is a big fancy house and in their backyard they have a pool and two trampolines and it's really fancy.  I now sleep in a full-size bed.  I'm getting super spoiled! I am simultaneously starving because it is a pain and takes forever to take food from  our tiny fridge upstairs to the kitchen downstairs and I feel uncomfortable in someone else's fancy kitchen.  But it's probably a good thing that I am not eating very much because I can't bike AT ALL so hopefully it balances out. :)  

El Dorado feels like a foreign land haha. It's just a million bazillion trees and if you hike through the trees a ways you can find some houses.  Everyone lives in gated communities so you drive through the gate (which has a gate code) and then several miles away is the gate at the "back" of the  community.  We live in...Greenstone?  I think that's what ours is called.  It is about 10-15 minutes to drive out of our "neighborhood" community place.  It's super hilly and the roads are narrow but I am getting better at driving on them.  It's hard in the dark because there are no street lamps but I am getting better.  Fortunately Sister Tu'atonga knows the area really well so she navigates.  Not a day goes by that I don't almost hit and kill a squirrel or rabbit.  There is wildlife everywhere!  And deer.  More than in Bountiful, even.  It's rather charming.  The house we live in is way up on a hill so we have a nice view and the stars at night are so bright and clear!  It's super pretty.  So that's all great.  Our ward and Stake are very missionary minded.  The first night we had a missionary "transfer" dinner where the stake leadership and the ward missionaries have dinner with our whole El Dorado zone.  They really are very focused on missionary work so that is really cool and exciting.  People here LOVE the missionaries.  Everyone in the ward was very anxious to meet me. I'm not sure I reciprocated the excitement that well because I was feeling seriously shell shocked but hopefully I did ok with meeting everyone.

On Sunday we taught Gospel Principles, and Young Women's.  Our lesson in Young Women's was AWFUL.  It made no sense at all.  We were just everywhere.  No unity in our teaching.  It was bad.  Sister Tu'atonga thought it went well.  I'm not really sure what to do.  But I will make it work!  We will learn to teach well together!  Somehow.  Next Sunday we are giving talks.  So I am now just going to plan on speaking in church about every six weeks because it seems to be the thing to do to ask the missionaries to speak.

Anyway, that's about it.  It's really beautiful here.  I'm homesick for Galt, but I'm sure it will feel like home here before too long.  This is a really boring email so sorry.  Hopefully I'll come up with something interesting to talk about next week!  I'm attaching pictures of where we are staying.  There will be more next time, but this is what I have so far.  Have a good week!

Sister Robinson

Little by little

Hey guys!

Wow. Can you believe it's only a month til General conference again! Whoo hoo! I'm so excited. Plus Easter! Man, April is a great month. And St. Patrick's day is coming here soon! And I hope everyone celebrated Groundhog's day! I did! I celebrated by asking everyone I talked to what they were going to do for groundhog's day. No one knew what it was. In Spanish it's El Dìa de La Marmota. So that was entertaining. We actually had a really good week this week. 

We found two investigators that should be able to progress. And they're both named Carolina. So that's just awesome. :) haha. The first one we really taught horribly and I couldn't feel the spirit, but she seemed to understand everything really well. And she accepted a baptismal date, but then couldn't come to church because she has to work one Sunday every month. But she wants to learn and get baptized. And the other one English Carolina we'll call her, because she speaks English and her kids do, too because she lived in the united states. She's been to and seen Temple square and so that was crazy. And she has a lot of Mormon friends so that was sweet. So now we have people to work with! Yay! haha. And we put a young man and young woman both with goals and preparation to receive a patriarchal blessing and for the young man to get the Melchizedek priesthood. So that was a blast.

The conference that we had was about becoming a preach my gospel missionary. And it was really awesome. Elder Di Giovanni from the seventy came with his wife and they were really good teachers. It was really fun to be there. And we had KFC after so that was really weird and delicious. But you should all read the talk called Becoming a Preach My gospel missionary. I'm pretty sure it's by David A. Bednar. It's really good. and President Arrington gave us the challenge to prepare ourselves well and read the talk and the scriptures that correspond. It really made a huge difference for me. I could focus a lot better and could focus better on the spirit. 

Oh and also, things are going really well with my companion, Elder Meza (May-thuh). In Peru they say the s and z like th. But it's been a really good week. I'll get a picture of him to send next week!

I love you all and hope you have a good week!

Elder Robinson

February 14-20

Saturday we went to the Center to run off leader guides and facilitator guides from the computer.  Then we went to Arevalo to check in with the business class---only two classes left and seven will be eligible for the certificate from LDS Business college in Salt Lake City!  We are so pleased with how the people have sacrificed to attend every class.  They will improve their lives for sure.  We went to Molo church to pick up Butch and Michele to take them out for Valentine's dinner.  Michele has hemmed all my dresses for free.  When we got to Molo, they were taking pictures so we got in on that.  A whole family was baptized; Mom, Dad, two girls, 13 and 16.  It was so exciting to be there with them.  The talks were given, the baptisms performed twice on each, and the newly baptized each bore their testimony.  After that, we went to Diversion 21 Hotel for our dinner reservations.  It was decorated so pretty with our name on the table and a special valentine menu. It was so nice to be with my own valentine on a date.  We got home around 8:00.  We begin missionary fast now.
Sunday we were up at 5:30 to catch the pump boat to Guimaras for church and "My Path" devotional.  Elder and Sister Cushing picked us up at the wharf and drove us to the Jordan branch.  They were so nice to us and wanted to know when we would come back:). Ray spoke, the elders quorum president and the district president, President Bisete.  Ray was also a deacon for the sacrament.  It felt like such a privilege to have him serve at the Lord's sacrament table.  We went to Sunday school and relief society/Priesthood and they served all who stayed for the devotional rice noodle/chicken soup.  I loved it.  The devotional was about 20 in number and after they stayed to visit with us.  It was so enjoyable.  Then Cushings took us to their house and served us watermelon and we visited until it was time to catch the boat back.  We took a taxi to and from the wharf in Iloilo because we need to have our mission vehicle behind gates when we leave.  At home, we had our Sunday popcorn and water.
Monday 5:30 am we were at the Esplanade by the river with our zone doing Zumba dancing.  We showered after and then picked up Cushings at our wharf for all of us to do English testing, also Sessions, for the outgoing Filipino missionaries.  After we went to lunch at the Atrium where I ordered a chef's salad and a green mango shake.  It is the best, a little sour with a lime taste...ooh.  I will miss the green mango shakes.  We picked up onions and peppers for tonight's pork sandwiches with our district and we watched "Meet the Mormons" on our little computer but it was still inspiring.  Then we drove the missionaries home.
Tuesday we got up at 4 am to be at the airport to Cebu Temple!  I hadn't realized how much I missed the temple.  We are sleeping at the patron house by the temple:  no towels, no soap, but sheets:). And we were able to be in the same room together.  We prepared some family names to take and that was nice.  I believe Charity was baptized for Mrs Torrece August 2 in Bountiful and Andrew performed the ordinance, so Tuesday I did her initiatory and received for her the endowment.  It was fun to think of Charity and Andrew as part of this process with me for an ancestor in 1640.  Sister Cagape made all the arrangements for us to fly and stay and eat.  She is so kind to us. Cuzzins were there also from Mandurreao as the daughter was doing her own work prior to going on a mission to Canada speaking Mandarin Chinese.  She is Japanese.
Her convert friend is here also; he will leave for his mission to Mindanao. I'm not sure how it is spelled but it is another island here.  Between the two days, I was able to participate in seven initiatories and five endowments.
Thursday I worked in family history cleaning up some family files and merging duplicates and triplicates.  I would like to get good at that.  Then we flew back to Iloilo and went to Arevalo to check in with the mission president.  Ray put license plates on the vehicle, actually changed them because we were given two sets and they had the wrong information on them, so now it is right and we will return the other set to the mission office.  We met so many people in Cebu and so many asked if we knew President and Sister Mortimer.  That was fun to be able to tell them yes, they were great friends with my sister and her husband and also that she had made my daughter who is serving a mission in California a blessing cap twenty one years ago.  Sister Cagape introduced us to one of her friends and she took us around Cebu in a small red jeepney to a S&R, like Costco in the states.  It was not as big, about 1/3 the size.  It was interesting.  Sister Cagape fed us all.  Today while waiting for the plane, she treated us to a sugar cane drink with calamansi in it, ooh.  It was fun to watch the sugar cane stalks go into the juicer and be squeezed.  It was very tasty.  We will try to go back in August or September, hopefully.  We will try to get other missionary couples to go with us.
Friday we are catching up on laundry.  And grocery shopping.  Today we will go to Jalandoni(the Center) and get ready for Sunday and go to a "Called to Serve" for a missionary going out that I referred to previously in this email.  It is a great blessing to serve a mission.  Yes, there are sacrifices...and I feel it as three babies will be born while we are here and I do not have the privilege to go to the homes and serve my own children's families but The Lord is prospering us and sending blessings and I am enjoying them.  Love and God will bless you, Sister Robinson, Mom
HAPPY VALENTINES,  MAY YOU ALL SERVE WHEREVER YOU ARE WITH YOUR SWEETHEARTS.

Short one!

I literally have no time this week. But I am well, and loving the new sector! My comp's from Peru and he's an interesting guy! I now live in a house of some members and they're awesome. They do our laundry and give us yummy random food! Oh, and we live with another companionship; one Colombian and a Chilean. They're sweet! Love you lots! Have a good week! Oh, also in the new ward of Esmeralda it's about 70 in church every week average for last year. So I'll get to know all the members really fast. And our sector is pretty rich for Chile. There's a brand new area and everyone that lives there has a car and a smart tv. The sign of richness. In Chile they're called quicos. (kwee-coes) It's pretty fun here. And it's a blast to have more than one companionship in the house. We get to have a conference with a seventy this week, so that's sweet! Love you all! Hope you have a good week! Pray for the members that they'll be filled with the desire to do the work and the understanding of how to do it. I think there will be a lot of work done in this ward. :) And they already asked me to sing in sacrament meeting! So that was the best! :)

Much love!

un abrazo!

Elder Robinson

Double Date

Happy Valentine's Day! with Butch and Michele Balsomo

Thought

Happy Valentines.
A thought for the week...
In the book by Tad R Callister I found this quote by James L. Gordon:
"A cathedral without windows, a face without eyes, a field without flowers, an alphabet without vowels, a continent without rivers, a night without stars, a sky without a sun - these would not be so sad as a ...soul without Christ. The contemplation of such a world as this would be the most despairing thought that could ever darken the mind or sadden the heart of man. But fortunately there is a Christ and there was an Atonement, and it is infinite for all mankind."
I love you all, Love Dad

February 6-13 Happy Valentine's

Saturday we went to a 9:00 am computer class but had to leave before it started sometime after 10:00.  We had a 10:00 business class but no one came until 10:30. :) But it went well.  Three members will finish the last three classes in Tiolas where they live to save the fare and 1 1/2 commute one way.  That leaves four to finish here.  One sister weaves rugs and she is teaching me.  I can't wait to use all the stored t-shirts.  After the class, we took the three from Tiolas to the Bamboo store to give them ideas.  And then took them to the bus terminal.  We ate late, and then went to the Center.
Sunday we went to Jaro 2 Relief Society and Sunday School and then spoke in Sacrament meeting.  Russell M. Nelson said, "You have been commissioned by Heavenly Father to prepare a people to receive the Savior."  After sacrament meeting, we held a My Path Devotional, about 19 attended.  Now the Bishop will order books and the people will keep track of their expenses for four weeks.  After that we did some facilitator training to two members.  Then we stopped at Mandurreao church to see how their classes are going.  It appeared that they have lost a few already but the remaining 20 are doing very well.  Onto the bungalow for dinner; it was a great day.
Monday we did laundry; texted President Aquino about going to the Cebu Temple; texted Darlene about looking at a house to rent in Jaro 2,  we went and paid our water bill and electric bill; we went to the Center.  We looked at a brand new apartment.  It was really nice but it was not big enough for our car.  It had a real bathroom, faucet...nice.  But the traffic from there is very congested.  We went shopping and then to the mission office to see if we could show "Meet the Mormons" to President Aquino and his family:(. They already saw it.  We just downloaded it from iTunes.  It is great!  Available March 31 to purchase DVD.  We went home, snacked, made some texts and calls.
Tuesday was district meeting, then we all went to McDonald's and after that we dropped the missionaries off at Savanah and San Miguel and we went to an Open House at Savanah.  Some really cute, small 2 story houses..most expensive P3,000,000 or $69,000.  We had lunch, went to the Center and helped a sister with a resume and went to the wharf to pick up Boiser and back to the Center for a meeting until 9:30.  We closed up the church, locked the gates, took Butch home; Boiser to the Hotel and Darlene caught a jeepney from SM where we dropped her off.  Charity and Andrew were both transferred.
Wednesday we followed President Insigne to Pavia to look at a home that will be for rent but not until July.  The wife of the owner is the new self reliance specialist.  We will speak in her ward and have the devotional March 15.  The owner is a past stake president in North stake.  Then we picked up Boiser and went to the Center.  We got a new volunteer, Christian.  Sister Cagape is great at recruiting.  We also worked with Leganes ward, Joy, about a young adult activity, April 30.  Leganes is a super cool ward, very inclusive and they make you their most wanted friend upon meeting you.  We spent Christmas Day with them last year after the white Christmas baptisms and it was so much fun!  We tried and tried to make plane reservations and finally Sister Cagape got it all taken care of.  She wanted to take us all to lunch and when we got to the Vietnamese restaurant, they had a brownout so we went to a place in the Mall, Chik....something, not much for me to eat there, squid, oysters, crab...
Thursday we picked up Boiser at Diversion 21 Hotel, went to the Center and picked up Butch and Darlene and went to a new business called NEGOSYO Center to collaborate with them.  We all went to lunch above the Atrium and Sessions, the senior couple from Antique met us there.  Sister Cagape met us there and treated us all again to dinner.  She reminds me of my mother, she loves to take care of all of us.  This is a great place to eat.  I had a Greek salad and pumpkin soup!  Yea!  Then Boiser and us went to the Cagape farm to talk to her son, President Cagape, the self reliance counselor, about raising chickens, native chickens and he has experience in that.  Sister Cagape had made us a banana float, like two layers of Cheesecake with bananas and graham crackers.  It actually tastes like banana cream pie.  Yum!  Then we took Boiser back to the wharf; he lives in Bacolod on Negros Island.  We stopped at the Center a while and then went home.  While at the Center I met a Sister whose mother just passed away.  She is from San Antonio and was doing family history.  It was fun to visit with her; we had visited with her brother at the wake for their mother.
Friday we went to the Center at 6am to try to get our debit card through Lewiston bank to work, so they had us reset the pin but it still doesn't work. We returned to bungalow to do our regular routine.  In the scripture reading today was this:
Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them:  for The Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee, He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.  8:  And The Lord, He it is that doth go before thee; He will be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee:  fear not neither be dismayed.
This is His work and we are grateful to be serving as a group of Four, though we are separated by many miles, yet we are one in the Lord's hands.  What a great blessing it is to be serving The Lord in the capacity of missionaries with our two last children, Elder Robinson in Chile and Sister Robinson in California, El Dorado.  All my love from the Philippines to you, Sister Robinson III, Mom, Grandma
PS I made banana/carrot/pineapple muffins today; texted with one of our missionaries who has gone home, Elder Ortiz; went shopping, put away groceries; had lunch (not out); went to the Center to send this.  We get to go to another island Sunday...that is my teaser for next week)

Transfers! (Week 14)

Ack! Transfers are awful!  But we'll get back to that because it's most recent and I'm going to backtrack to what is less recent.  Halfway through this week, on Wednesday I believe, we got a call from President Jardine.  He was giving Sister Barfuss the assignment to be Sister Training Leader.  Told ya I had I good companion.  With that news we knew for sure that she was leaving the area because STL's aren't placed in Galt.  Typically only one missionary is moved at a time so that one in the companionship knows the investigators and the ward members etc. so we were pretty sure that I would be staying.  She had to go to a meeting on Friday with all the leadership and so I spent the better part of Friday with the Spanish sisters.  That was interesting.  Mostly it was the same as being in my normal routine because we still spent most of the time knocking on doors that weren't answered.  At the end there was a lesson during which I mentally practiced memorizing the Spanish sentence they had taught me in the car just for fun.  They brought a member along and after the lesson this member fed us lunch.  It was mole (definitely supposed to be an accent in there somewhere, it is pronounced moe-lay) which is apparently a paste made of different kinds of chili's and cocoa.  She blended it up with chicken broth and served chicken in the broth-soup mole stuff with some rice in a bowl.  It was pretty good, but did NOT digest well.  I was having some nasty spicy burps for hours.  Sorry, too much information, but it was an experience! Authentic Mexican food with a lady that speaks only Spanish!

Oh also, accidentally I forgot to update anyone about the doctor last week.  They sent me to a different doctor because the allergy stuff didn't help at all, so they sent me to a doctor in Roseville.  We got the text telling us the address of the appointment and Sister Barfuss got SUPER excited because we got to leave the mission!  It's crazy how exciting it is to drive forty-five minutes away when it means you are leaving a boundary you know is in place.  He said the problem is tension in my neck muscles which is causing the headaches.  He told me to do neck stretches (gave me a booklet that teaches me how) and then gave me more prescription pain medication, which doesn't help at all.  I think the stretches might be helping some though, it seems to hurt less some days.  I also have an appointment scheduled with a chiropractor February 25th.

Also, super exciting news!  We are having a conference that is supposed to be mission wide I think and a member of the seventy, and an apostle will come!  Wahoo!  AND it's on my birthday! So that's pretty much the best ever.  Pretty sure it is only happening because they are splitting our mission, but I will NOT complain about anything out of the norm, and especially if an apostle is involved!  So I am super excited about that. (Raymond, get in the suitcase of whoever it is and come see me! Oh, and bring that cute baby.)

One of our members texted this week with a quote from her 3 year-old daughter, "Why does Jesus' kids live so far away?" "Who are you talking about?" "The missionary sisters, Mom."  Haha I thought it was funny, and cute.  I seriously love some of these kids around here.  Not as much as my cute nieces and nephews though.

This week we went to the taco truck for lunch one day and there were these high school boys.  One of them said, "Are you guys Mormons?" so then we got in a conversation with them.  We were telling them some of our beliefs about the restoration and Heavenly Father.  They were saying that we couldn't know what is true and what is not and we'll find out when we die.  That was pretty much super depressing to me.  How can anyone be satisfied with that?  I am grateful to know that there is a way to know what is true and what is not, and that it's through my Father in Heaven, who loves me and wants me to know.  Something in the conversation made me think of Ether 12:4, "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God."  This scripture has been hard for me to understand in the past because it's such a long thought, but I understand it now.  When we have faith in Christ and in His love and power and Atonement, we have hope that through Him we can accomplish anything.  We have hope for a better world.  A world where everyone knows of Him, and their Heavenly Father and the joy of the gospel.  Hope cometh of faith, and anchors our souls to God.

This faith and hope I will need, because I am being transferred to El Dorado!  With a companion I fear!  And I will be driving!  Which I also fear!  And I will know absolutely no one and I am leaving the place I now consider to be home in a way.  But, "God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."  So I will be relying on that power and love and soundness of mind a lot in the coming week.  Pray for Galt 2nd ward and the missionaries to take care of it.  And for my new companion, Sister Tu'atonga.  And for me.  Love you all!

Sister Robinson

Transfers! (Week 14)

Ack! Transfers are awful!  But we'll get back to that because it's most recent and I'm going to backtrack to what is less recent.  Halfway through this week, on Wednesday I believe, we got a call from President Jardine.  He was giving Sister Barfuss the assignment to be Sister Training Leader.  Told ya I had I good companion.  With that news we knew for sure that she was leaving the area because STL's aren't placed in Galt.  Typically only one missionary is moved at a time so that one in the companionship knows the investigators and the ward members etc. so we were pretty sure that I would be staying.  She had to go to a meeting on Friday with all the leadership and so I spent the better part of Friday with the Spanish sisters.  That was interesting.  Mostly it was the same as being in my normal routine because we still spent most of the time knocking on doors that weren't answered.  At the end there was a lesson during which I mentally practiced memorizing the Spanish sentence they had taught me in the car just for fun.  They brought a member along and after the lesson this member fed us lunch.  It was mole (definitely supposed to be an accent in there somewhere, it is pronounced moe-lay) which is apparently a paste made of different kinds of chili's and cocoa.  She blended it up with chicken broth and served chicken in the broth-soup mole stuff with some rice in a bowl.  It was pretty good, but did NOT digest well.  I was having some nasty spicy burps for hours.  Sorry, too much information, but it was an experience! Authentic Mexican food with a lady that speaks only Spanish!

Oh also, accidentally I forgot to update anyone about the doctor last week.  They sent me to a different doctor because the allergy stuff didn't help at all, so they sent me to a doctor in Roseville.  We got the text telling us the address of the appointment and Sister Barfuss got SUPER excited because we got to leave the mission!  It's crazy how exciting it is to drive forty-five minutes away when it means you are leaving a boundary you know is in place.  He said the problem is tension in my neck muscles which is causing the headaches.  He told me to do neck stretches (gave me a booklet that teaches me how) and then gave me more prescription pain medication, which doesn't help at all.  I think the stretches might be helping some though, it seems to hurt less some days.  I also have an appointment scheduled with a chiropractor February 25th.

Also, super exciting news!  We are having a conference that is supposed to be mission wide I think and a member of the seventy, and an apostle will come!  Wahoo!  AND it's on my birthday! So that's pretty much the best ever.  Pretty sure it is only happening because they are splitting our mission, but I will NOT complain about anything out of the norm, and especially if an apostle is involved!  So I am super excited about that. (Raymond, get in the suitcase of whoever it is and come see me! Oh, and bring that cute baby.)

One of our members texted this week with a quote from her 3 year-old daughter, "Why does Jesus' kids live so far away?" "Who are you talking about?" "The missionary sisters, Mom."  Haha I thought it was funny, and cute.  I seriously love some of these kids around here.  Not as much as my cute nieces and nephews though.

This week we went to the taco truck for lunch one day and there were these high school boys.  One of them said, "Are you guys Mormons?" so then we got in a conversation with them.  We were telling them some of our beliefs about the restoration and Heavenly Father.  They were saying that we couldn't know what is true and what is not and we'll find out when we die.  That was pretty much super depressing to me.  How can anyone be satisfied with that?  I am grateful to know that there is a way to know what is true and what is not, and that it's through my Father in Heaven, who loves me and wants me to know.  Something in the conversation made me think of Ether 12:4, "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God."  This scripture has been hard for me to understand in the past because it's such a long thought, but I understand it now.  When we have faith in Christ and in His love and power and Atonement, we have hope that through Him we can accomplish anything.  We have hope for a better world.  A world where everyone knows of Him, and their Heavenly Father and the joy of the gospel.  Hope cometh of faith, and anchors our souls to God.

This faith and hope I will need, because I am being transferred to El Dorado!  With a companion I fear!  And I will be driving!  Which I also fear!  And I will know absolutely no one and I am leaving the place I now consider to be home in a way.  But, "God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."  So I will be relying on that power and love and soundness of mind a lot in the coming week.  Pray for Galt 2nd ward and the missionaries to take care of it.  And for my new companion, Sister Tu'atonga.  And for me.  Love you all!

Sister Robinson

Sisters

At the Galt flea market

Because He loved us first

Hey guys!

How is everyone? I'm doing well. I feel a little anxious today because it's exchanges and I'm leaving! Freak. :) I'm going to a ward called Esmeralda with an Elder Meza. He's from Peru, but I don't know anything else about that. But it means that today, I have to say good bye to everyone in the ward and the investigators and stuff! Crazy, right? Oh man. I can't believe I'm leaving. But that's ok. But what's kind of a bummer is that our main boy, Dubal, asked me to do the baptism, but now I'm not gonna be there. But all things have a purpose. And we can still keep in touch and stuff! 

Andres and Marcela weren't in our sector yesterday, they were traveling in Chiguayante so they didn't come to church, but what's really even cooler, is that they called us to ask where a chapel was over there and they still attended church! So that was just too cool! They're gonna be awesome. Hopefully the Elders that will be with them will be able to help them move their marriage along faster. Right now they're committed to do it this year. But I'm thinking more like this Valentine's day! :) haha. But they'll all be good.

Also, a miracle happened yesterday! A less active lady we've been visiting came to church with her non member daughter! And the mom (Soraya) is a returned missionary but she hasn't gone to church for a really long time. 10 years or more. And the daughter didn't care less about the church when we met her, but now she wants to start receiving the lessons. Hermana Soraya is going back to Santiago this weekend, but the daughter is studying here in Concepciòn so the missionaries here will be able to teach her! It was too awesome. 

We shared a lot about love this week. (warning, lots of hippie language coming soon) and it was awesome. I've always loved the scripture in 1 John 4:19. We loved Him, because He first loved us. Or something really close. The order might be different in English. But it's a really simple and powerful message. I think about the people that it's just so plain to see how much they are enjoying and loving life and people and our first instinct is to love them too. And when they make mistakes or are obnoxious, it's hard to stay mad at them for long because they just love you so much. Even though our Savior never made mistakes, it's a similar principle. It's hard to dislike someone that thinks really highly of you. And the Savior thinks highly of and loves every single one of us. He knows us, our faults, our potential, and He know us perfectly. And He not only loves us despite these things, but He loves us with these things, and that love, that charity is what enables us to grow and learn and improve ourselves in every moment. And I've felt that He loves us even more, and can do a lot more to help if He is an integral part of the process. Well, really we know that we can't do it without Him. He really is the process. He is life and light and hope. And in and through Him we can do all things, even the greatest of all, receive eternal life with Him and our wonderful families. 

It starts with thinking. We control what we think, if we think negatively that's how we're gonna be: negative. But if we think positively and with love, remembering and using the example that our Savior showed us, our potential will be realized. And it will be a part of our actions and choices and thoughts. And that's what makes us who we are. President Monson taught that "The choices we make determine our destiny." I know it's true. And I know that when we allow charity to guide our actions, it will lead us to do good and become even as Christ is.

I hope everyone has a good week! Pray for my new companion, that he'll love me! :) haha. And that we'll be able to find success together in the new sector! I love you all!

Elder Robinson

First week of February

Saturday we went to the business class at Arevalo that has already been going seven weeks.  We also delivered our last books to the Arevalo Ward.  Ray helped them learn how to do a cash flow report.
Later that day we had lunch and our fast began.  It is great to fast 1 and 3 weeks.  I am reading Jan and Feb Ensigns!  Wow!  And May Ensign 1991 p24. President Uchtdorf talked about how air beneath the plane must be greater than air above the plane to create lift.  Prayer is one of the prime principles of the gospel that provides lift.  Elder Nelson says, "Your soul will be blessed as you learn to listen, then listen to learn, from children, parents, partners, neighbors, and church leaders, all of which will heighten capacity to hear counsel from on high."
After lunch we went to LaPaz and delivered books to LaPuz and Leganes, found we were three books short so we went back to the Center and picked up three more books and returned to LaPaz.  We took a new way home because everything was blocked off for a parade.  It was the long way but we saw some streets we had not seen before:). We brought in our washed sheets from the line and made our bed.  I finished reading "Jesus the Christ".  Life is really so sweet.  I sin but I repent fast!
Sunday we attended Mandurreao ward fast and testimony meeting.  The Sunday School lesson was "being born again".  As I had been reading Ensign I came upon this, The gate called Baptism.  Being born again is a process.  We begin with 1-faith, 2-repentance, 3-baptism by immersion by one having authority.  But according to Elder Bednar, "essential steps in the process include total immersion in and saturation with the Savior's gospel."  After baptism, we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost contingent upon our always remembering the Savior in all we think, do, and are.  And thus we are made clean 2 Nephi 31:17.  The sacrament gives us weekly opportunity to examine ourselves and symbolically place our sins on the Lord's altar (repent, seek forgiveness) and then go forward in a newness of life (through the atonement), unburden our sins through Jesus Christ's atonement and literally allow ourselves to be exalted--"buried with Him. By baptism unto death:  that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in a newness of life...Romans 6:4, 6. The Savior stands at the door to personally bid us welcome to dwell with Him. Our Savior runs to embrace us, like the prodigal son, when we turn towards Him.  He employs no servant at the gate, not to exclude, but to personally embrace us.  He welcomes us with open arms!  After Mandurreao we went to Molo 2 to see what they needed to get started, then one hour for lunch and then to San Miguel Group.  We got to bear our testimonies there because there were only seven of us present.  At 4:00 we came home and read.
Monday we are headed to Jalandoni to copy a flash drive for Molo 2.  We called Raymond and Julie and were able to see all of them on Face Time.   Eve Irene was blessed today and yesterday Boyd was baptized and his Grandma Wilson remembered us in her talk.  What a great day when our family joined with theirs!
We did some wash on Monday and went to Arevalo, mission office to sign some things and give our thumb prints but the missionaries didn't show up so we could do it on another day, but we did visit with President Aquino.  We picked up water and hope we found a new referral.  After a sneaky dinner, we went for a walk on the Esplanade, the most beautiful place in Iloilo.  Home for fhe dessert:  McDonald's apple pie:)
Tuesday was zone meeting with all new missionaries and leaders, only Sister Baui, Sister Punsalan, Elder Frandsen and us are left with 20 new.  The meeting lasted until noon.  It was good.  We went to the self reliance center and ran off our version of "My Path," went for a late lunch, and I had a nap.  I had leg cramps most of the night so I was pretty tired.  Then we went to a 6:00 self reliance meeting which started at 7:00, but much was accomplished.  Home by 8:00.  Our blender we purchased burned all the way up.  I was making banana/carrot muffins but I mashed them with a fork and they turned out yummy!
Wednesday we washed clothes, made 2 car payments, went shopping, and made vinegar and oil dressing for Aquinos who will be hosting Elder Bowen and his wife, area presidency and President Beck and his wife from the General Young Men's Presidency.  She wanted them to have a choice of dressing for their salad and there are no vinaigrettes here.  Ray and I were thrilled to get to assist in any way!  Home for lunch and back to the center for a facilitator training at 6:30.  After home, read, to bed.
Counsel Together Oft was an awesome article in Jan Ensign and then What Will You Choose?  By Russell M Nelson. Everyone read this one two or three times!  You were commissioned by Heavenly Father to prepare a people to receive the Savior.
-Don't be afraid to pursue your goals--even your dreams!
- Live differently 1 Timothy 4:12 "in word, in conversation, in Charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity"
-Choose eternal life as your highest priority; notice how other choices fall into place
"When you choose whether to make or keep a covenant with God, you choose whether you will leave an inheritance of hope to those who might follow your example". President Eyring
Thursday President Back and Elder Bowen and wives were at Arevalo for an hour with the missionaries, only three rows of them, for questions and answers.  Most of them were afraid to ask questions because they were so personal.  I knew many of our Filipino missionaries are only converts and families were not happy and have not communicated in their mission time, but it turned out that many of our missionaries from the states are also from broken homes, parents have remarried other partners and our missionaries wonder where they fit in.  It is very heart breaking!  I'm not sure there was enough time for these great brothers to realize the pain in that room.  We heard more after the meeting.  But their answers were comforting, I'm sure. We did get to take a picture with President Beck and were able to hear from him about Raymond's family video taken with his phone.  President Beck is very warm and personable.  We received a text from Elder Bowen at the airport apologizing for not getting to visit with us.  I was very impressed with his thoughtfulness. We returned to our bungalow to eat and then to the Center to discuss with Darlyn all our plans for this Sunday, without materials:(.
Friday Ray ironed his shirts, we bought water, we went to Jalandoni to do family search and hope to take them to the Cebu Temple if we get permission.  A sister facilitator from Arevalo came into the Center and Ray helped her with a flash drive.  She said her group really had fun acting out the video when they couldn't get the movie.  Then Roland came in, our young friend, for assistance in writing his missionary experience with President Beck for the Liahona magazine.  It was very fun.  It was such a spiritual experience for all who were involved with President Beck.  I can't wait to hear from the others on Tuesday at district meeting about their experience with Elder Bowen and the sisters' experience with Sister Bowen.  We thought Friday was going to be "empty" but it turned out "full":)
Count your many blessings, like raindrops on an umbrella...love Sister Robinson etc.

2 pictures

Week 13

Well...this will be another shorter one because I accidentally just read emails and responded and didn't start writing so now I am almost out of time.  Oops!  I will do better next week, I promise!  So this week we were doing service at the horse place for the last time, because the lady is moving.  It was weirdly quiet the whole time and kind of ghost town-ish.  I went out of the...place with horse stalls...what is this called? Oh, stable!  Went out of the stable and suddenly felt something hit my head.  I just knew it was bird poop...because what else just falls out of the sky?  I had Sister Barfuss check, and sure enough, bird poop.  And I had definitely showered about an hour earlier, and did not have another opportunity that day to shower.  Just one of those special experiences that few people get to have.  I took a picture, I'll send it another time.  I started laughing about it in a hurry but it was mostly because as Sister Hinckley says, you laugh or cry, so I chose to laugh. :)  Other than that, we had exchanges this week.  You may recall I was NOT a fan of exchanges last time.  It was actually perfect and just what I needed this time.

I went to Lodi for the day and I had come to a point where I knew that I was not having enough faith and that my effectiveness was decreasing as a result.  That greenie faith doesn't last long!  None of our investigators were meeting with us and it was really bumming me out, we were really struggling to even get people on the street to listen to us long enough to tell them who we were!  It just was getting to be a real downer.  On exchange day it was pretty much miracle after miracle.  We had a great lesson with the Lodi sister's investigator, it went really well and she said she would get baptized down the road as she learns more.  We had a lot of good contacts and lessons with people on the street, and when we got to places where people weren't home we would walk around trying to find someone to teach, because there are no coincidences! None of those lessons resulted in new investigators, but it just felt like we were supposed to talk to them.  I felt like I was directed by the spirit the things to say.  I also was there for one of their investigators committing to a date to be baptized.  It was so great!  It was just exciting to see people that actually were progressing and were making those decisions to follow the Savior.  It was just what I needed to renew my faith and belief that there are people like that in my area, too.  In Preach My Gospel it says, "you can know you have been a successful missionary when you: feel the spirit testify to people through you." That day I definitely did, and it gave me just what I needed to go back to my area with renewed energy.  We now officially have zero investigators again, but we set our goals this week higher than we have all transfer, because we felt good about it and we know that for our part, we will do everything we can to reach them.  If the agency of others prevents it, we can know that we had a successful week because we worked hard and did as the spirit directed.

Today we went to Big Trees and that was pretty fun!  Great Zone activity, and the last time we'll all be together because of transfers!  I love this zone, it's been good.  But I'll love the other elders and sisters I get to serve with too.  Love you all!  Have a good week!

Sister Robinson

big trees

big pine cone

tiny space in a tree