11/18/2014

S/O to Rochelle and Taylor and baby Payten! Truth is I´m a little jealous because if there´s one thing that I miss, it´s holding babies.. so let´s just say I better be receiving lots and lots of photos of ALL my nieces and nephews :)

What a wonderful week we had here in Pueblo. First of all, I´m staying here for another transfer and I´m super happy because things are really starting to pick up here. Truth is things are starting to pick up in the whole mission because Presidente Zanni is changing a lot of things and everyone is really fired up. The biggest news is that we get up at 7 now... hahaha but only because we go to bed at 11. It´s crazy how much of a difference it makes. We sleep for the same amount of time, but I feel so much more refreshed at 7 than I do at 6:30.

Also, on Sunday we had our special conference with Elder Russell M. Nelson. It was so awesome and he speaks Castellano. Who knew? He shared the same story that´s in the Mormon Message that Dad´s in so that made me real happy. :) Basically his message was, are we ready for the last days? If Christ came tomorrow, would we be ready? It really got me thinking that we really don´t know when He´s going to come. Like seriously the Council of Adam Ondi Ahman could be tomorrow. It got me so fired up to just give everything that I can especially during my time as a full time missionary. This time is so short and the weeks pass so quickly. I want to go to bed every night knowing that I did the best that I could. And if I made mistakes (which I do everyday) I want to wake up with the determination to learn from them. Corinne gave me some good advice a couple weeks back and said that, yes, Heavenly Father knows that we´ll make mistakes and that we need to improve, but that His correction is always accompanied with the hope that we can change and become better every day. Satan tries to discourage us into thinking that we´re so far from perfection that we may as well not even try. I´ve really tried to apply that the last couple weeks and I can definitely see the difference in my effectiveness as a missionary. We had divisions this week with the capacitadoras and Hermana Perez told me that I just need to have more confidence in myself. Every negative thought that I have, Satan will take it and run. I realized that she was right and that it doesn´t matter if I only have five months in the mission field, it doesn´t matter if I can´t speak or understand the people perfectly, the Lord has put me here for a reason because He knows that I´m capable. I realized that even though I´m not a missionary with tons of experience, I can pretend like I am and work like one. Cuz you know what they say, fake it til you make it. Hahaha but I have seen such a huge change if myself and my desire to  just work hard and give all that I have and I feel like my effectiveness as a missionary has increased so much in just 3 days. 

Oh, and I shook hands with Elder Nelson. Just sayin.

I love everyone so much! And as always, I´m so grateful for all the love and prayers and I hope all of you know that I´m always praying for and thinking of all of you. Have fun in Connecticut and San Diego! Just not too much fun without me :)

Love, Hermana Robinson

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10/27/2014

Hello, my dears! Yet another week has come and gone hear in Ramallo...

One of our investigators, Maria Fernanda, is getting ready to be baptized here pretty soon. She is so awesome and has been attending church for almost a month now. We finally committed her to baptism this week and it was awesome. She wouldn´t accept a date for a long time, and I don´t really know what changed, but she finally said yes! Haha we originally planned for the 8th of November but had to change it because the branch is traveling to Buenos Aires to go to the temple and nobody is going to be here... so we changed it to the 15th. Then we found out yesterday that we´ll be having a special stake conference in San Nicolas that weekend because an Apostle is coming! We don´t know who it is yet, but it´s a pretty big deal cuz it´s not even for the whole mission, just for us :) So even though I´m pretty pumped, I feel bad because we have to change her date AGAIN. Hahah but she´s awesome and I know she´s gonna get there. As we were leaving her house the day we committed her she asked "Should I make a pizza for after the service?" Hahah she is the cutest thing.

Another one of our investigators is a cute little old lady named Diana. We had a good first lesson with her, and invited her to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. We talked about some other stuff and she began to cry and told us that what she really wanted is for her son to call her because she hasn´t seen him in a long time. We tried to comfort her and told her she could pray so that he´d call her. She said one of the most fervent prayers I´ve ever heard, and I was praying really hard so that he´d call her, too. We showed up to her house yester day, and guess what? He didn´t call. He showed up to her house and had spent the whole day with her! Hahaha we were so happy for her and she told us that she just cried and cried and when she first saw him she immediately thought of us. It was a pretty cool experience. She then proceeded to tell us that she didn´t want to join any church and asked if she should return the BoM. Haha but we had a nice chat and she´s going to read and pray again. :)

This morning I was reading in 2 Nefi 32 and Nephi talks about how sometimes we don´t understand the scriptures simply because we don´t ask. The Holy Ghost can tell us ALL things, all we have to do is ask and search for the answers! I really liked it a lot, because our Heavenly Father is willing and wants to reveal all things to us, we just have to be open and willing to receive the revelation. He will teach us things as soon as we are ready to receive them.

I love all of you so much! I can´t believe that Corinne is all growed up and getting married next week! It was just yesterday that we divided all our pokemon cards, built a snowfort and filmed the best movie ever made (A Horse Named Jasper), no? I am also so excited for Jeanette and Dave! The bigger our family gets, the more awesome it is! Have a wonderful Halloween and somebody pull out the cat lady outfit with the shopping cart for me, eh?

Love, Hermana Robinson

10/14/2014

My heavens, what a week this has been here in Ramallo! Turns out my new companion only has one more transfer than I do and... I speak and understand a little bit better than she does. Needless to say, neither one of us has a lot of experience, but the both of us have a strong deisre to work hard, learn, and improve. This week I´ve felt a little overwhelmed with all the changes, but I have grown more than I did all last transfer. I´m doing things that I didn´t know that I knew how to do, and I have absolutely no doubts that the Lord is helping me. Before I could maybe understand 80% of what people say, but this week I have been able to understand everything. And even if I miss something, I always hear the most important parts. I just feel so blessed and I know for sure now that the Lord doesn´t call the qualified but qualifies the called. Obviously I still have a TON to learn, but I´m pleased with my progress and I know the Lord is too. The biggest change I´ve seen in myself is just how real all of this feels to me now. Up to this point my mission has felt a little bit like a dream to me, and... I dunno. I don´t know how to explain it. It´s a little bit overwhelming when I think of the importance of this calling, but I find comfort in knowing that Lord isn´t going to demand anything of me that I can´t do with His help. I just hope that my weaknesses don´t keep anybody from receiving this gospel. Even though I´m being stretched, I know that this is exactly what I need in order to come to know my Savior better. It´s been really humbling to trust in Him and the spirit rather than a fluent companion. I´m really grateful for Hermana Yi, her diligence, and her desire to work hard. Somehow we´ve been teaching more lessons than ever, and I truly believe, despite our inexperience, that we´ll be seeing MILAGROS in Ramallo Pueblo. All I know is that we´re together for a reason and I just have to trust in the Lord that He is going to be able to use me. 

Something I´ve been thinking about lately is just how much I have grown to love Argentina and the people here. I remember the night I got set apart when Dad pulled me aside and told me, ¨I know you´re crying right now because  you´re going to miss your family, but I promise you when you´re on the plane home you´ll cry twice as hard because chances are you´ll never see those people again.´´ I love the people here so much, I love my companions, and I am so grateful for them becasue they are changing my life. And gosh, I know still have a good while before I´ll be coming home but it already makes me tear up. 

I love all of you so much and I am so grateful for our wonderful family. Please keep those prayers coming because heaven knows how much I need them. 

Con TODO mi amor, Hermana Robinson

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Flia Rios, la Hna Castañeda y la iglesia grande.

10/8/2014

First of all, I would like for all of us to take a moment of silence for Bathsheeba. 

She will be missed. 

In other news, another transfer has come and gone and... I´m staying in Ramallo! My companion, Hna Castañeda, is the new Capacitadora and I´m not surprised one bit. She is AWESOME and I am so excited for her even though I´m going to miss her a lot. We were always laughing and I learned so much from her. My new companion is Hermana Yi from New York and all I know is that she has two or three transfers more than I do. I´m a little bit nervous to lead the area, but I know the Lord never gives us responsibility without divine help. Hahah so just pray lots and lots for me, all right? But I´m excited and I know it´s going to help me grow in the ways that I need to!

General Conference was great, right? It was my first time listening to it in Castellano, and I understood casi todo. Some of the translators spoke a lil fast, but I could understand the gist of everything. Haha but I loved all the talks! Something that really hit me what when Elder D. Todd Christofferson said that we can choose the kind of person we want to be, but it is only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ that we can become that person. I have a strong desire to be the absolute best missionary I can be, but there´s no way I´ll be able to do it without His help. He can only change us if we let Him, and although sometimes it´s a little painful and really humbling, it´s the best feeling in the world to witness these changes within myself. Although I still have much to learn, I´m enjoying the process of letting Him change me. The mission really is the refiner´s fire. I´ve never felt so far from perfection nor have I ever had to trust in Him so much. I´m so grateful for all that I am learning out here and I wouldn´t trade this experience for anything!

Thank you all so much for writing to me! I love hearing from all of you so much and all of you are examples for me. I love hearing your thoughts and impressions, they strenghten me every single day. Please continue to keep me updated on everything! Love you all!

Love, Hermana Robinson

P.S. The sunsets here are gorgeous.

9/29/2014

My dearest family,

I can hardly believe how quickly time passes out here! I have just one week left of training and I honestly don´t feel ready at all. There is still so much I have to learn... but I guess the Lord doesn´t really expect me to know everything after just 12 weeks so it´s ok :) I still have a good 4 months ahead of me, thank goodness. :) At times it´s hard to feel like I´m making a lot of progress, and yet I am amazed at how much I´ve grown in such a short amount of time (both in skirt size an spiritually:) 

This last Saturday we had the baptism of Naiara and it was a beautiful day! Everything went perfectly and she was so excited. Her older siblings are really strong and good examples, so although she is young, she has a wonderful support group. The branch is also very supportive, so that makes it even better. Saturday was a really special day and I could feel the spirit so strongly. I am just filled with the desire to help as many people as I possibly can to take this important step. And to think that baptism is just the beginning.. the Lord has so much more in store for us. I love this gospel and I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to share it with others. I also learned that one of our investigators we were teaching in Concepcion got baptized too and man, I am just so happy, I can´t even explain it. I am excited to keep helping these people throughout the rest of my mission and for the rest of my life.

I love all of you so much. Thank you everyone for writing me, thinking of, and praying for me. I do the same for you every day and I just feel so blessed to be a part of our family. Let´s strive to establish Zion, eh? :) Love you all!

Love, Hermana Robinson

9/22/2014

Hello, my dearest family! Another week has come and gone here in Ramallo Pueblo. The work is certainly moving along here and we've been having a lot of neat experiences. This week will be the baptism of Naiara, the little sister of two of our recent converts. She is HILARIOUS are reminds me of Emma. Like she's the Argentine version of her personality-wise. Hahaha I'm cracking up just thinking about her!

This week we found an awesome family. We formed a friendship with them really fast, and in the second lesson they invited us over for a barbeque. So on Friday I had my very first Argentine BBQ and it was DELICIOUS. The dad is awesome and is reading and praying and everything. I have a lot of hope for them that they can progress and I just love them so much. The only problem is that none of our investigators are coming to church so we're trying to think of how we can fix that this week. 

I can't believe that I only have two weeks left of training. I don't feel ready to be done yet... there is just so much still that I need to learn! But I don't think the Lord expects me to know everything just after 12 weeks, and all that matter is that I'm doing the best I can every single day. I've never felt so inadequate in my entire life, but it's so much fun to see how much I can do with the Lord's help. I don't always trust the way that I should and that's one of my goals this week- to just trust in the spirit more and follow every impression I receive. Even if it seems crazy, or even if it scares me, because the more we follow the spirit, the better we will learn to recognize it. I am loving my mission so far, even though it's by far the most difficult thing I've ever done. I've never had to trust in the Lord so much, and I hope He is able to trust me a little bit more everyday. 

I love you all so much! Thank you all for the support, the love, the prayers, and the emails. I love hearing about how everyone is doing, and I love how close I still feel to all of you all the time. Thank you for being the best family ever!! :)

Hugs and Kisses, Hermana Robinson

9/8/2014

Another week has come and gone! I can't believe how quickly time moves out here in the field.. it's weird. I already have two months (almost) in Argentina and 3 months over all in the mission. That's already 1/6th... wow, 'kay not gonna think about that 'cause it just blows my mind. 

Anyways. The work is moving along here in Ramallo and I'm learning more and more every day. I was a little bit discouraged this week, mostly because of the language. I guess being with a Latina companion just made me realize how much I don't know... haha but it's all good and she's helping me a ton. I just have to remind myself that I only have a few weeks in the field and it'll all come with time! Right? :)

Yesterday was Stake Conference and it was awesome. I just love how it doesn't really matter where I am in the world, I always feel right at home when I'm in the chapel surrounded by my brothers and sisters. It's just another witness to me that this is Christ's church and He's the one directing it. 

This week I've been studying a lot in fist Nephi (en castellano;) and was thinking about how the Lord really does guide us and how we always need to trust in Him and the impressions we receive. Every time something bad happened (like when Nephi broke his bow) his brothers, and even Lehi in this instance, began to murmur and basically question everything they had done up to that point, like leaving everything they had ever known behind in Jerusalem. How could that possibly have been the Lord's will if they were having such a hard time?

I went through the same thing in the beginning of my mission. I thought ''mmkay this is like really hard'' but I just had to trust in the answer I received multiple times that this is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing at this time in my life. Satan tries really hard to discourage us when we're doing what's right and sometimes that's how we know we're on the right track :) The Lord is always guiding us, and more often than not, it's through the wilderness, but He is leading us to the promised land! It's just like our family always talks about, how the trials are necessary and we just have to stay faithful and always seek His guidance.

Love you all so very much! I hope everyone has a wonderful week :)

---

3 months! Always gotta gotts celebrate the little things.. with an alfajor. :) One of the Hermanas kindly told me that my cheeks are a little chubbier than when I got here two months ago... hahah it's true. But don't worry mom, I'm working it off.

Hermana Myler y yo

9/1/2014

Hola mi Familia! Wow, the other thing I've learned since I've been in the mission is that everyone just kinda expects that you have already received the big news, so you always learn things in passing. Like I didn't know that so many people went to the hospital and that my sister got ENGAGED! Hahaha that is so super awesome and I am so excited for you, Corinne!!! I want to see photos! :)

This week was a little bit crazy with transfers and all that good stuff, but things are starting to settle down a little bit over here in Ramallo Pueblo. This area is super tranquilo and beautiful. I didn't think it would be so hard to change areas, but it was. I love those members in Concepcion so much. It's tough because I was just starting to really get to know all of them and all our investigators and whatnot and then I had to leave. It's a little bit funny because I always told Hna Myler how I hoped I was going to have a lot of time there, BUT I already love Ramallo so much and I know I will grow close to the people here, too. :) And my new companion is totes hilar. Like we're always laughing and the fact that we don't completely understand each other all the time just makes everything funnier! She is so awesome though and really pushes to work hard. Something I love about her is that she really makes me feel like she values my opinion and she's super humble. Even though she has a lot more experience than I do, it really feels like we're learning together and that makes it fun! 

I'm really developing a new love and appreciation for the scriptures. I love being able to read them every day and pondering about how I can apply them in my life. It doesn't really matter what I read, there's always somthing I can learn, something I need to hear. My testimony has also increased about prayer and being able to receive personal revelation. I'm learning how to listen to and follow the promptings of the spirit. It feels so cool to be able to share my thoughts with Hna Castañeda and to have her say that she received the same impressions.

As for my Castellano, it's coming along! I feel like my English is getting worse so I'll take that as a good sign. Everyone makes fun of the way I speak until they find out I only have one transfer in the mission and then they say ''Entonces Hermana, ud habla rey bien! Esto es el don de lenguas'' haha and it has improved a ton even after just a few days of being with Hna Castañeda.

I love you so much my deareast family! I am so grateful for each and every one of you and for the examples you are to me. Please keep my updated on all the exciting things that are happening back at home :) Have wonderful week, my dears! These are exciting times :)

Love, Hermana Robinson

8/26/2014

If there´s one thing I´ve learned on my mission thus far it´s that you´ve gotta be prepared for anything to happen, even when el Presidente tells you his plans two weeks before. Hahah so Hna Myler se fue en Domingo and guess what? Me voy también. I got a call last night that my area is being closed down and I´m being transfered clear to the other side of the mission, like 12 hours away. I´ll be in a little pueblito called Ramallo Pueblo in San Nicolás. My new companion is Hermana Casteñeda and all I´ve heard is that she´s awesome and that she´s from Mexico. I´m so excited to be speaking only Spanish! I´m really still in shock because nobody saw this coming, especially because everyone we thought would leave is actually staying. I love my district and my area so much, and it´s hard for me to believe I´m actually leaving. I´m going to miss the members here, they really are so so awesome. But I´m excited for the new adventure and I know Heavenly Father knows exactly what He´s doing. I´m so grateful that Presidente Zanni had me train the way he did because it stretched me and helped me grow in ways that I wouldn´t have otherwise. 

There isn´t really a lot news other than that. I´m staying in Colon with the other Hermanas in my district and we´ve just been chillin the last couple days. It´s been so much fun and I´m so grateful for all the people I´ve gotten to know in the last couple weeks! My testimony has grown so much in such a short amount of time, and I wouldn´t trade these experiences I´m having for anything. There ain´t no doubts that this is the Lord´s work! 

Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers! I feel so blessed to have the family that I have and I wouldn´t trade any of you for anything either :) Have a wonderful week, my darlings!

Con todo mi amor, Hna Robinson

8/18/2014

Querido Familia,

This week was crazy! But I´m still alive so that´s good. :) Hahah it´s been one of the hardest weeks and yet one of the best! Last Monday was our pday especial and we went to Concordia to spend the day with our zone. It was really fun and super beautiful. I love any time we get to spend with other missionaries and may or may not have taken advantage of the 3 hour bus ride to catch up on some sleep :) 

My first week being in charge of the area was a struggle, especially during planning. I was feeling a little stressed out just because our area is huge and one particular night we had absoultely nothing planned for the next evening. I just didn´t even know where to start and I felt a lot of pressure to find out exactly what where we needed to be exactly when we needed to be there... cuz there are people who are prepared and I wanna find em. But like I said, I didn´t have a clue of where to start. Finally I just decided to pick a name from our huge list of menos activos and planned to go contact this woman and after we were going to contact that area (still super awkward about these, btw). Long story short, we were the answer to this woman´s prayers, we found crazy weird connections to other menos activos and it was just a really cool experience.  It helped me see that as long as we´re really trying to go about doing good, doing our best to follow the promptings of the spirit, He´s going to put people in our path and He will lead us to where we need to be. This week I´ve seen a huge change in myself and my ability to just trust in the Lord and follow the spirit. It´s awesome.

Now for the other 57 miracles. Yesterday we had 57 people en la capilla compared to the usual 30 or so! We worked a lot this week with menos activo families and two of them showed up to church for the first time in years. It was so awesome and we were all on cloud nine! even if there was a fist fight and a bloody nose. Hahah good times. The trick now is just getting them to come every week. :) We also had two investigators there and one of them is getting baptized on the 13th of September! So. even though this week was tough, I´m learning and growing a ton and we´re seeing a lot of miracles in this area. :) #concepcióndeluruguayordie

Love you all so very much! I love seeing all of these pictures, even if it takes  me a minute to recognize my nieces and nephews because they´re all growing up so very fast! :) Have a wonderful week, my dears.

Hermana Robinson

---

Yay for Concordia!

Maria y Maria. Everyone here is named Maria and if they aren´t they´re named Jose.

8/11/2014

Hello my dearest family! First of all, props to Alyse for making the high school team! Proud sister right here. You are going to LOVE it! It´s so much fun to hear about all that´s going on back home. Like I can´t believe my nephew can date now. That´s weird and I feel old. Also, Dad I´m sorry to hear about your knee! I´ll be praying that all goes well with the surgery and that you´ll heal quickly. 

Anyways. This week was super great. We went to the Palacio de San Jose last Pday and it was super pretty. I love Argentina. Especially the sunsets. We´ve been finding a lot of great people, but the most promising actually found us.. haha one of the members called us and told us that her granddaughter had been asking her questions about that church and wants to get baptized. So.. we´re excited! The only thing is she´s only 12 so we need the permision from her mom. So we´re praying that all will work out there. We had divisions for the first time this last week and it was so much fun! It was something I really needed and I learned so much. I got to stay here in Concepción with the capacitadora, which means I was basically in charge. I was super nervous because I can barely navigate the area and I´m not really confident in my ability to communicate with la gente. But she came, we only got lots for like 10 minutes and I was calling the investigators and the members on the phone all by myself. We had a few lessons with some contacts we made and found a really great family. Overall, it was just a witness that I really can do this. Good thing too, because my companion se va in two weeks and I´m going to have to be the one to introduce my new companion to the area. We had entrevistas con el presidente yesterday and he said in order to get me ready for when she leaves, I´m going to take on the role of the senior companion for the next two weeks, which means I´ll be taking the iniciative in discussions, contacting, planning, and pretty much everything else. Haha I´m super nervous but I know that Heavenly Father will help me and that this is going to help me grow in the ways that I need to. I´m learning how to do everything a missionary needs to do and now I need to learn how to it with the spirit. So just pray for me lots and lots that I´ll have the confidence in my ability to listen to and follow his guidance. :) I really love it here and I have never been so happy! Which is weird, cuz it´s also really hard but I´m able to see how much progress I make every single day. 

Thank you so much for everything all of you do for me!!! It is always so much fun to hear about all the change that is going on. I pray for all of you all the time and I know Heavenly Father is watching over all of us. Have a wonderful week, my dears!

Con todo mi amor, Hermana Robinson

8/4/2014

Another week has come and gone! I just want to start by saying how much I love the area I´m in. The members are so awesome. They are so willing to help us, feed us (sometimes too much:), and come with us to lessons. When investigators come to church or activities, they just take them under their wings. It makes me want to do all that I can to build up the kingdom in this area! I realized how much of a responsibility I have in this branch. My trainer leaves in three weeks, and someone new is going to come and I´m going to have to be the one to show my new trainer around the area and introduce them to the members and all that jazz. I´ve been really trying this week to get to know the members a little bit better and show them that I´m doing all I can to keep the work moving here. It was a little bit overwhleming once I realized that I need to start taking the iniciative in working with the members and our investigators, but I realized that Heavenly Father wouldn´t have put me in this situation if He didn´t think I could do it. So just keep praying for me that I´ll be able to form strong relationships with them! 

We´ve been struggling a little bit with finding new people to teach. A lot of people just like to invite us over and listen and learn about what we believe, but always tell us that they´re catholic and going to stay catholic.. hahah that´s what they think ;) I´m joking, but it´s sad because we get to know them and their struggles, and my heart breaks every time I hear about the things these people have gone through. Then my heart breaks even more when they turn us away because I know how much this gospel can help them. We´ve been praying really hard to just find someone who will want to listen to us. Already in the last couple of days we´ve met a lot of great people that I´m hoping will accept the things we have to share. 

The language is coming slowly but surely. For me, it´s really a matter of just speaking. A lot of the time I´m hesistant to say anything because I can barely follow the conversation and don´t really know what to say. But I always seem to catch the most important parts, so I just have to trust that Heavenly Father is going to give me the words I need to say.

Once again, thank you for being the most amazing, wonderful family I could have ever hoped for! Sounds like a lot of change is going on, but at least we´re all going through it together :) Something Kristin told me that I´ve been thinking a lot about recently is that change is always stressful, even when it´s good change. So we just have to embrace it and learn to love it :) I love it here more and more every day and I´m learning to enjoy the journey. Let´s continue to strenghten and uplift one another and establish Zion in our family. I love you all! 

Love, Hermana Robinson

7/28/2014

Hello, my dearest family! I´m so happy to hear that everyone is doing so well. It sounds like a lot of things are going on and a lot of changes are happening but I know that everyone is handling it well. How wonderful to know that we have each other to support one another through these crazy and yet wonderful times! 

All is well here in Argentina! My comp said that our area started picking up right when I got here so we´re pretty busy every day. I´m starting to teach more in our lessons, though I´m still pretty limited in what I can say. I learn so much every single day about myself, the gospel, and just life in general. It´s crazy and at times a little overwhelming, but I love it! I am so grateful for the experiences I am having and it really is something wonderful to be able to witness the power of the atonement at work in others and in myself. 

We had a branch activity this last friday and it was so much fun. We did Navidad en Julio as a reminder that we can remember Christ every single day of our lives. It was really successful and we even had some investigators show up! I love the branch here. They treat us so well. I just wish that I could really hold conversations with them because they are amazing and I want to get to know them better. I hope that I get to spend a long time here in this area! One of our investigators, Maria, is trying to quit smoking. We have this program to help her out with a whole list of things she can do, the only problem is she can´t read. So to help her remember the steps I drew pictures for her and she loved them. It felt so good to be able to feel like I really helped someone. And so far she hasn´t smoked since! :)

So funny story. This week a man came to our apartment to install a water heater. I was super pumped because that means WARM SHOWERS. I told my comp how excited I was about this and she just starts dying laughing. Turns out we had hot water in the shower the whole time, I just never know how to make it work... hahaha  my heavens either way, I´m grateful for warms showers. And now we can wash our clothes and dishes with warm water, too. :) 

I am learning to love missionary work more and more every day. The language is a little bit frustrating sometimes, but I know it will come eventually. I just have to keep trying and learning! :)  I love all of you so much and I´m so grateful for your love and support. Life is getting crazier and crazier and we need each other more than ever! I know as we continue to share our thoughts and dreams we will be able to establish Zion in our family. I look forward to all that lies ahead! :)

Love, Hermana Robinson

Week 8 - 7/21/2014

Hello, my dearest family! I´m so happy to hear that everyone is doing so well. It sounds like a lot of things are going on and a lot of changes are happening but I know that everyone is handling it well. How wonderful to know that we have each other to support one another through these crazy and yet wonderful times! 

All is well here in Argentina! My comp said that our area started picking up right when I got here so we´re pretty busy every day. I´m starting to teach more in our lessons, though I´m still pretty limited in what I can say. I learn so much every single day about myself, the gospel, and just life in general. It´s crazy and at times a little overwhelming, but I love it! I am so grateful for the experiences I am having and it really is something wonderful to be able to witness the power of the atonement at work in others and in myself. 

We had a branch activity this last friday and it was so much fun. We did Navidad en Julio as a reminder that we can remember Christ every single day of our lives. It was really successful and we even had some investigators show up! I love the branch here. They treat us so well. I just wish that I could really hold conversations with them because they are amazing and I want to get to know them better. I hope that I get to spend a long time here in this area! One of our investigators, Maria, is trying to quit smoking. We have this program to help her out with a whole list of things she can do, the only problem is she can´t read. So to help her remember the steps I drew pictures for her and she loved them. It felt so good to be able to feel like I really helped someone. And so far she hasn´t smoked since! :)

So funny story. This week a man came to our apartment to install a water heater. I was super pumped because that means WARM SHOWERS. I told my comp how excited I was about this and she just starts dying laughing. Turns out we had hot water in the shower the whole time, I just never know how to make it work... hahaha  my heavens either way, I´m grateful for warms showers. And now we can wash our clothes and dishes with warm water, too. :) 

I am learning to love missionary work more and more every day. The language is a little bit frustrating sometimes, but I know it will come eventually. I just have to keep trying and learning! :)  I love all of you so much and I´m so grateful for your love and support. Life is getting crazier and crazier and we need each other more than ever! I know as we continue to share our thoughts and dreams we will be able to establish Zion in our family. I look forward to all that lies ahead! :)

Love, Hermana Robinson

Week 7 - 7/21/14

¡Hola mi familia! ¿Cómo andan? I hope all is well with everyone at home! I love hearing about all that is happening! These are such exciting times. Things are crazy over here and I have no doubts everyone has all sorts of things going on and that everyone is keeping busy. I´m so happy that Brett and Missy and the Pulleys will be arriving this week!!! Totes jelly but all is well because families are forever and I´ll be back in 16 months.

So my first week in Argentina.. I know y´all are just dying to here the details. My heavens, where do I begin? We arrived in Argentina on Tuesday morning. I really don´t want to think about that plane ride again because it was just too long and you all know how much I hate plane rides. I got here and that´s all the matters :) We drove a good 3 or 4 hours to Rosario and spent the night in the mission home. The Zannis are awesome and I love them so much! I met my trainer, Hna Myler, and she rocks. Also she´s American which I wasn´t expecting. But don´t worry, she only speaks to me in Spanish. Hahaha this is actually her last transfer before she finishes the mission so that means I´ll have two trainers. Lucky me! :) She is great though and I know I´ll learn a lot from her.

My first area is Concepción del Uruguay! Hahah I know what you´re all thinking. But anyways, it´s about four hours from Rosario and it´s awesome. I really love Argentina and I think it´s beautiful. I don´t really have culture shock at all except for the language... they speak s´darn fast here! But I can actually understand a lot and the members told me my accent is really good. I introduced myself in Sacrament meeting yesterday and everyone told me that I speak Castellano muy bien and that my testimony was perfect. And then after church a homless man told me that I had beautiful eyes. So that was nice. Oh, but you should have been there for my first contact! Hahah I mean I´m awkward when I speak English so you can only imagine what I´m like speaking Spanish. I´m not afraid to talk to people, the problem is just when they talk back. Cuz I can´t understand them. But it will come with time and practice, right? :)

Overall I´m doing very well. It´s certainly an adjustment, but lots of prayer gets me through each day. I have a lot of things I need to work on, a lot of things I need to learn, so I just have to be patient and trust in the Lord and in myself. I am so grateful to have the family that I have! All of you are wonderful and I love all of you so much. Thank you for being such amazing examples to me and for being such an amazing support. Something I´m trying to work on is just being happy in the moment rather than always waiting for something. We can be grateful and be happy no matter what our cirumstances are, and we can always know that things will get better and there are better days ahead. I´m grateful that I have my savior to rely on, and an amazing family as well. I love all of you so much! Have a wonderful week!

Love, Hermana Robinson

Week 6 - 7/12/14

We get a little bit of time to email today before we head out on Monday :) This week has gone by so quickly! I am so grateful for the time I've been able to spend here in the MTC. I have the best teachers and I've made friends for life. To be honest, I don't really know what to think about leaving.. I don't really feel all that ready but I think that's pretty normal. :) I'm so excited though because no matter where I am, I always find friends and grow to love the people around me. I didn't really like the MTC all that much at first, but now I love it and it will be hard to leave. I know the same thing will happen once I get to Argentina! I know it will be different than I expect, and I'm sure I'll get hit with culture shock pretty hard, but I feel really peaceful about it all. I'm not scared, just nervous because I don't quite know what to expect. My spanish is ok, I think. Grammar is tough though. I can understand about 95% of everything my teachers say, but they speak really slowly and don't have an accent. Haha so we'll just have to see what happens when I get down there! :) All the investigators and other teachers that I talk to compliment me on how well I speak though... I'm not too worried about the language at this point because I think I'll pick it up pretty fast.

We had in-field orientation yesterday where we did a lot of workshops and stuff and learned how to work with members. It was a lot to take in in just 8 hours, but I left with a lot of great insights and a stronger desire to get out and work! The biggest thing I got out of it was that I can't be afraid of making mistakes. I just have to get out, be myself, and try my best! That's all He asks, really. :) I'll make plenty of mistakes but that's how I'll learn! And besides, they always make for great stories. :)

It's just hard to believe this time is already here! 

We fly out Monday morning at 11am, I think. First to Georgia, then from there to Argentina. We have a four or five hour layover in Atlanta so I will call you then! :) I'm not quite positive what time yet, I have to look at my travel plans. I'll get on again tonight after I talk to my zone and figure it all out (so feel free to email me back before then:) I called Zion's Bank and told them I'd be leaving for Argentina on Monday so everything should be good there. I think that's about it though! Thank you so very much for all the letters and the packages you've sent while I've been here, they never failed to make my day. :) And since I won't be able to get any of those while I'm in Argentina, I made sure to be extra grateful for every single one. I love all of you so much and I am so excited to talk to you on Monday!!! Just think, the next time you speak to me after that I'll probably be fluent and I'll have almost seven months on the mission. Crazy, no? Love you!