Happy New Year!  I just barely started remembering that this is 2015,
so who knows how long it will take me to catch up with 2016.  I kind of froze myself in the year I left and was always getting confused. My last companion would always have to tell me it's 2015. Haha anyway this week has been pretty good!  We cleaned a moldy fridge for service this week.  That was pretty gross but our member was very pleased to discover that essentially he had a brand new fridge when we were finished with it!  Poor Sister Erickson has been sick, she's been a trooper.  

On New Year's Eve we had District Meeting at night so that we weren't out and about during festivities.  I was responsible for a whole two minutes of District Meeting and I did a whole lot of planning to prepare for those two minutes, but it still didn't go that well haha.  I had the scripture I was planning to use all pulled up but when it came to it I couldn't find it so I got all flustered.  Oh well!  I found it eventually!  After District Meeting we got to play games for about an hour before going home.  We played a couple rounds of mafia, and it was pretty fun (though not as fun as playing with you, family).  One of our Zone Leaders was the one narrating, and for the second round he make it all Star Wars themed.  Mafia=sith, Police=Jedi.  It was awesome.  He does a SICK Yoda voice.  Those who were killed were attacked by...well I don't remember the names, but those little round droids with guns, or trampled by those giant boxes with legs...ya I'm not up on my Star Wars lingo.  But anyway it was hilarious.  It's as close to the new Star Wars movie as any of us can get haha. One day when we were knocking on members doors the guy answered and we introduced ourselves and said we were trying to meet the members and share a spiritual thought with them.  He told us his whole family are members and there's nothing we could tell him that he doesn't already know.  It was super weird.  I think we could probably teach him something about how to recognize pride... 

We did some service at the zoo taking down the Christmas lights they had up.  It's a pretty small zoo and more like a rescue but it's actually pretty cool.  I saw the tiger moving around and I got super excited.  I said, "Sister Erickson! Look! A tiger! A tiger! Quick look at the tiger!" You'd think I'd never seen one before.  I don't think I ever have seen one that close before though, and moving.  I also got to pet a deer so that was cool.  

I don't remember if I've shared this before but in one of our wards we're not allowed to tract so basically our only option is referrals from members.  We spend most of our time talking with them and encouraging them to meet more people and share the gospel with them.  This past Sunday our zone fasted for them to have the strength to share the gospel with those around them.  It's sad because we can't even get members to keep their commitments. Hopefully soon they will start taking it seriously.  Family, here is your commitment.  If you don't know any people who aren't members, meet some.  Meet the parents of your kids friends.  Get involved in community service.  Do something to get out there and meet people that aren't members of the church already.  Pray for Heavenly Father to put them in your path.  Be their friend.  And then remind me I said this when I get home so I don't let myself off the hook when I have normal life things to balance too.  I still think these members are just the best though.  They're doing a lot of good things, and most of them are talking with lots of non members, they just aren't really thinking of how to help those they are talking with and friendshipping progress.

There was a testimony yesterday that really made me think. It was a High Councilor visiting our ward.  He reflected on returning from his mission to find his baby sister much older; he didn't recognize her until she was tugging on his suit coat, begging for attention.  She got married at a later age and struggled with infertility.  She eventually gave birth to triplets, two of which are severely handicapped.  She struggled with, but recovered from breast cancer.  Recently she was skiing with her family and suddenly collapsed.  She has brain tumors from her cancer metastasizing. She is terminal, and paralyzed from the tumors.  Now his baby sister is not going to last much longer, and his family is struggling to know how to care for her children.  His testimony was, "This is unfair.  She has done everything right, and nothing about this situation is fair to anyone.  Because of the gospel, I know that though this life is unfair, it is only one small part of a three act play.  Her life began before this life, and it will continue after.  Though this life may be unfair, it is in the third act that everything is made right."  I was inspired by his faith.  It reminded me of a quote by President Uchtdorf, "Being grateful IN our circumstances is an act of faith in God.  It requires that we trust God and hope for things we may not see but which are true. By being grateful, we follow the example of our beloved Savior, who said, 'Not my will, but thine, be done.' True gratitude is an expression of hope AND testimony. It comes from acknowledging that we do not always understand the trials of life but trusting that one day we will...When we are grateful to God IN our circumstances, we can experience gentle peace in the midst of tribulation. In grief, we can still lift up our hearts in praise. In pain, we can glory in Christ's Atonement. In the cold of bitter sorrow, we can experience the closeness and warmth of heaven's embrace."

I am so thankful for the peace of the gospel, and the eternal perspective it brings.  All wrongs will be made right through Christ's Atonement.  Love you all.

Sister Robinson

The other day we had dinner with some members that had picked up all
these crazy interesting soda's for their daughter's wedding reception.
This is one of them.  It tastes exactly like it sounds.

For p-day today we found this teriyaki place that also sells Filipino food and these yummy smoothies with popping boba in them. I'm a BIG fan. It's coconut with peach boba and it comes with a giant straw so you can suck up the boba. SO fun, I had a blast drinking it.

My Filipino food, chicken adobo and some kind of clear noodle stuff. They also have Halo Halo, which from what I remember from mom and dad's emails is not very yummy but I might have to try it just because I can. Transfers are coming so I won't write until Tuesday!