3/29/2015

I have the best family in the whole world! All of your testimonies and your thoughts strengthen me so much!

I love how comfort we find as we read the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. As I read this morning in Alma 31, the last two verses touched my heart

 37 And after that they did separate themselves one from another, taking no thought for themselves what they should eat, or what they should drink, or what they should put on.

 38 And the Lord provided for them that they should hunger not, neither should they thirst; yea, and he also gave them strength, that they should suffer no manner of afflictions,save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ. Now this was according to the prayer of Alma; and this because he prayed in faith.

The Lord really does take care of us. There isn't anything that we could ever do or anything that could ever happen to us that Christ hasn already paid for. All the wrongs will be made right and we will be filled with an overwhelming joy. We can even feel this joy now as we ponder about the Plan of Salvation and how perfect it really is. What makes me happiest is knowing that I get to be with all of you forever. :)

I think of and pray for all of you every day! Thank you for being so wonderful.

Love, Hermana Robinson

P.S. A kitty.

3/9/2015

I found out that one of my bff's here in the mission, Hermana Bruneel, is related to us. She's from Moses Lake and thinks her parents know Craig's parents. Small world, right? 

This is one of the few dogs here in Argentina that I feel comfortable touching... :)

Half way there! - 3/2/2015

Fam, 

Thank you so much for the photos and the stories you have sent to me! I have greatly enjoyed them :) I didn't know Iooked so much like Grandmother Thelda... she's pretty ;)

This week was a good one. We've seen a lot of tender mercies. There's a cute little hermana in our branch that got reactivated a little bit ago and she's the only member of her family. Her family doesn't want anything to do with the church and it's pretty sad because they just poke fun at her all the time. They barely even acknowledge us when we go eat lunch every other week and her husband has never said anything to us except ''Que Dios les bendiga!!!!'' We've been praying a lot with and for her and her family so that they have a change of heart, pretty much since we got here two months ago. This last week she went on vacation but we felt like we needed to stop by and see if her husband was there.

He invited us to sit down and calmly explained to us why he was never going to go to our church. Basically he's just had some special experiences in his own church and feels like he'd be betraying God if he went to a different one. We listened for a little bit and then explained that we didn't want to take those special experiences away from him and that we only wanted to share things that would build his faith even more. Then he could pray and ask God if it was true or not. He kind of stopped us and asked,'' I can ask Him?'' And we were like, ''Yeah!'' He said that they had never told him anything like that in his church and told us ''Ok, I'm gonna do it! What do I have to do?'' We explained, read a couple scriptures, then committed him to baptism. He told us to come back this week to see how it went. It was a neat testimony builder to me that the Lord really does hear prayers and prepares the minds of the people. :)

Thank you so much for keeping me updated on everything! I love you all so much! Oh, and I hit 9 months this week! Time flies, right?

Hermana Robinson

I found out that one of my bff's here in the mission, Hermana Bruneel, is related to us. She's from Moses Lake and thinks her parents know Craig's parents. Small world, right? 

This is one of the few dogs here in Argentina that I feel comfortable touching... :)

2/23/2015

Argentina is pretty and so are we. Also, the circus came to town.

#hiphopneverstop

2/10/2015

Another transfer has come and gone... and I'm staying in Arroyo Seco! Whooo! Did I tell you before that Messi has a house here? Just saying. I'm hoping to stay here until he comes back from Spain. I will find him and I will baptize him.

I think I learned more in this last transfer than I have my entire mission. Training does that to ya I guess. I've really just had to trust in the Lord to help me and make up for all my weaknesses and we've for sure seen a ton of miracles here. This transfer the four of us hermanas are really determined to establish Zion here in Arroyo Seco. We're setting a lot of goals to work with the members and I know as we do the best we can each day, we'll be able to achieve great things. I'm more determined than ever to give all of myself to my Heavenly Father and Savior- I don't know that I've been so willing up to this point in my mission, but I really want them to change me so that I can be an effective tool in their hands. The power of the Atonement is real and I've seen both parts of it work within myself and in other people, That's the best part of the mission to me, I think. I read a talk the other day that said the Lord needs us to give ALL of us to him. The truth is that even when we give all we have, we'll always come up short. But if we give everything then his grace will make up the difference and that's when we see miracles. :)

I also read another talk this week that I liked a lot and it helped me to know that it's ok to be more bold. It's called  ''The First Vision and Religious Tolerance'' and ''Two Churches Only'' by Joseph Fielding McKonkie. Look it up, it's good!  It has a little bit to do with what y'all said last week :) Love you all!

Hermana Robinson

P.S. I finally broke down and bought my Argentine house dress. I wore it allll day.

Flirt to convert

Don't mind if I doo..

2/2/2015

I love everybody's thoughts on the Atonement! I've been thinking about that a lot too, lately and really want to apply it even more in my life. It's been really humbling and also very awesome to see the power of the Atonement take a greater part in my life over the last 8 months (can ya believe it's been 8 months already?!).

To be honest, this was a week of ups and downs. Our cute menos activa family told us they didn't want to go to church anymore just because they're so busy and have no time for anything. It was really disappointing and I think that was the first time the I felt really sad after someone 'dropped' us. In a weird way it was kind of a tender mercy to me because I began to realize just how much I love these people and I'm beginning to understand more fully why I want to be here. I was also worried because I wondered if it were my fault, or if there was something I should or shouldn´t have said. I thought about all our visits with them and played it all back in my mind and a big feeling of peace came over me and I knew that I had done the best I could. We all have our agency and there's nothing I can do except keep praying for them. I haven't lost all hope, nor have I given up on them. We will just be very prayerful about how we approach things with them in the future. The truth is that Satan is working really hard on all the members in our area. The branch is so close to becoming a ward and Satan sure doesn't want that. Luckily, the 4 of us are working really hard to keep things going forward. Also, on the bright side, we've found lots of really great people lately and they're even coming to church! Count ya blessings.

Today was a really fun day. As a district we went to the Monument of Flags here in Rosario.. it was the first time that I've really been in the city and got to walk around and sight see. It is SO beautiful here! :)

I love you all so very much! Have a wonderful week, my dears.

Hermana Robinson         

Oh BTW I cut my hair. A member did it and basically pulled Mulan and cut it strait across. So I'm kinda rockin the triangle look but it'll grow back, right?

1/26/15

Heeey!

We had a pretty good week this week. Things are really starting to pick up here in Arroyo Seco. The other day we were walking and had an awkward amount of time between appointments, so I figured we'd just knock a couple doors on the way. At the first house we went to a lady named Monica answered the door and at first was like... get outta here. So we left her a nice little Jesus card and went about on our merry way. All the sudden she came out again with her BF and they motioned for us to come back. Turns out he's a member menos activo and wanted to know if we a a triple he could have. He said that Monica always has a ton of questions about our church that he can never answer and wanted a triple so he could read it and help her out. We told him that all we had was a Book of Mormon so we gave it to 'em. Then all the sudden Monica starts talking in English and tells us how she's actually always been really interested in the Mormon church and wants to learn more. We were like ''Perfect! That's exactly what we're here for!'' So we set an appointment and visited them yesterday. She's already in 1 Nefi 8 and read the introduction and exerything. Haha we were going to teach them the Restoration but realized as we talked to them that Jonathan has a hard time even believing that God exists. So we backed up a little bit and talked about that and invited him to just pray and ask God if he really does exist. It was a really good lesson and basically Monica's going to get baptized, but we really have to help Jonathan out too. Their some really cool people and I'm excited to keep working with them! Also they have FOURTEEN cats. No lie. I'll send a pic next week.

I love you all and I hope every has the best week ever! Love, Hermana Robinson

This is our zone when he had p day especial last week. What a good looking group of kids!

1/19/2015

Hey there beautifuls.

Thank you all for the birthday wishes! I knew y´all didn´t forget ;) I still haven´t gotten my packages, but I have faith! Don´t you worry bout a thing. Oh, but shoutout to Alyse for the kitty socks-- everyone is supes jealous, and I am one happy missionary :) I´ll be sure to take a pic for next week!

 This week we had divisions with the capacitadoras.. And I was a little bit stressed out because Presidente made this agenda for all of us to use during divisions and we have to follow it as closely as we can- like have a lesson with a member to prepare them to go out on a lesson with you, then have them accompany you to the lesson, have another lesson with a member to teach them family history, read the BoM with another family, and a bunch of other stuff. All that´s just fine, but they told us we we´re having divisions the night before, after nightly planning, so I had to change almost all of our plans and call a bunch of people to get everything worked out. Everything turned out fine, we got some appointments set and I was ready to go. Then next morning as we were studying, one of the APs called me and was like ¨Hermana, where are you?¨ and I had no absolutely idea what he was talking about, but apparently there was a meeting for all the trainers that morning and nobody told me about it.. so then I felt bad about that, even though it wasn´t my fault. Ha.. so it was one of the most stressful days of my mission, but everything turned out just fine and I kept my cool through it all :) The only thing is that it was my birthday so.. yeah :) haha but la familia Olivera made me a yummy cake and I then I felt a lot better. We actually celebrated the day after cuz my companion was gone on my actual birthday and the other hermanas made me a cake with alfajors in it.. it was delicious and I really have a problem because I´m getting a little bigger, especially my cheeks. But the Lord is blessing me in a stange way because all of the sudden I hate dulce de leche and that´s been my kryptonite. I´m really sorry that this email is like really random.. but hey, whatcha gonna do.

I did learn a lot about the power of prayer this week though. I´ve been studying a lot about it in PME and the scriptures and I´ve been trying to make my prayers a lot more specific and heartfelt. As we truly seek revelation, the Lord gives it to us. We just have to do our part in pondering, searching, and then acting. I can already see a difference in my prayers and the effects they have in my day. I invite all of you to read about it Preach My Gospel because it applies to all of us, not just missionaries. I love you all so very much and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Love, Hermana Robinson

Mate partay with the members. Have I told you all how much I love my area? Cuz it´s the best. The members are awesome. We had 80 people in the chapel this week! #winning

The branch president always asks the hermanas what our goals are after the mission... then tell us ¨Your first goal should be MARRIAGE! You have 6 months after getting back to get married.¨Hence, the six fingers. 

1/5/15

Querida familia,

This has certainly been a week of growing and learning. I don´t really know exactly what I´m doing, but I´m loving the process of figuring it all out! :) Sometimes you really don´t know how strong you are until you have no other choice than to be strong and just do it. I think the Lord just wants me to be a little more humble and seek His guidance a little bit more. I am loving my new area. We went to church yesterday and there were 59 people in the chapel... it just about blew me away because we were few back in Ramallo. They really want to be a ward so everyone is ready and willing to work and I have a feeling we´ll be able to do it. They made another change here in the mission. They are no longer asking for numbers (like how many lessons, or new investigators). All they want to know is church attendance and baptisms. At first I was like.. ´what? Are they sure?´ but it´s really helped me focus more on the people and what I can do to help them. I´ve always known that the numbers weren´t important, but it is hard to not be worried about what other people think. Now I truly feel like I´ll only be worried about what the Lord thinks of me.  I am determined to be more obedient, more productive in all that I do. I feel like time is slipping away from me and more than anything I just want to cherish every moment and every person. I am so grateful for all the opportunities I have been give out here on my mission, and I know I´ll feel this way for the rest of my life. I had a tender moment the other day as I watched the He is the Gift video with an investigator. Out of nowhere the thought came to my mind ´Why me?´ Why was I chosen out of all others to be born into my family? What´s so special about me and what did I do to deserve such wonderful parents and brothers and sisters? I was filled with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and actually began to cry. I don´t know why I´ve been blessed they way I have. I think Heavenly Father knows just how much I need each and every one of you. My desire to share this gospel with others has grown so much and I just hope and pray with all my heart that I will be able to bring this kind of happiness to other families. I love all of you so much! Thank you for everything, especially for supporting me in my decision to serve a mission. I´ll do my best to make you and the Lord proud. :)

12/31/2014

Caaambios :)

Well, my dearest family... my time in Ramallo Pueblo has ended.

Hello Arroyo Seco! :) my area sits just outside of Rosario and once again I´m serving in a little Pueblito. I´ve been here just two days but I already love it here and the members are awesome!

But that´s not even the biggest news.. I´m training! And doing a whitewash at the same time! Hahaha when they called me I didn´t know whether to laugh or to cry.. but the truth is I´m really excited and I know I´m going to learn A TON. It´s a lot of responsibility, but I know the Lord wouldn´t have given it to me if he didn´t know that I could do it with His help. I have a feeling that these next two transfers will be some of my most stressful but also some of my favorites. Por suerte my companion es recapa and we get along really well. Her name is Hermana Hone, she´s from Utah and we´re the same age. We also live with two other Hermanas, one from Peru (Hermana Garbin) and hermana Bruneel( I was in concepcion del uruguay with her!) Seriously it is the best thing ever and we´re always laughing!

I´m sure I don´t really know what I´m getting into, but I decided to have faith and just trust in the lord. I know I won´t train or teach perfectly, but it´s going to help me grow into the person I need to become! Just pray lots for me and my companion! ;) Love you all!

Hermana Robinson

Chau Ramallo…

I’ll miss Argenchino the most.

I’ll miss the branch too!

. I finally saw my MTC companion again!  Hermana Briggs is training too. :)

My new companion!  She da best.  We’re already best friends.

12/15/14

12/15/2014

We had a Christmas activity with the Zone this last saturday in San Nicolás. We made cookies and took them to an orphanage and played soccer with all the little kids. It was soo much fun and everyone was totes impressed by my soccer skill. Still got it. And Carolina y Ana did my hair real pretty.

Oh, other big news... my mission is getting split next June! So I´ll either finish my mission in Argentina Santa Fe o en Argentina Rosario. It´s a ways away but it´ll come quick!

Some of my thoughts that I sent to mom.. 

I can´t wait to talk to you all next week! :)

I love your thoughts so much mom! I had some similar thoughts this week. I think I´ve always struggled a little bit with feeling inadequate, even more so as a missionary. This week I realized that if the Lord wanted us to be completely prepared in anything, we´d never get there. Then I had that thought that I´ll probably have the same feelings of inadequacy someday when I´m a mother. Sometimes I get down on myself for making silly mistakes, but I have to stop because that´s what life is all about! We make mistakes and then we learn from them. Sometimes it´s overwhelming when I think about all the areas I have to improve in (there are so many faces of missionary work!) like working with the members, learning the language, becoming a better teacher, learning to listen to the spirit, and overall just becoming a better disciple of Jesus Christ. The thing is He doesn´t expect to be perfect in any of these areas, especially not now, and I don´t know that He ever will. For this I have my companion, and for this we have spouses and families. That´s why building Zion in the family is so important because we all have something different to add to the process. If we´re all trying to improve and learn together then it´s even better.

I haven´t received any packages yet, but I´m confident in the fact that they will come... eventually :) I´ve gotten every letter so far, but I think the post offices are especially crazy with the Holidays and what not. Pday will be wednesday next week and I´ll let you know for sure what time I will be calling :) Love you!

I had to do tramites this week in Rosario so we spent the night in the mission home with our mission president´s family. We kneeled and said family prayer with them and one of the little girls said ¨gracias por las hermanas que vinieron a comer¨ hahah it was SO funny and presidente started laughing in the middle of the prayer..

12/8/14

I think I’m a magician...

because all of our investigator´s with a baptismal date seemed to disappear this week. We seriously could not find any of them. But it happens sometimes, right? And we're not letting it get us down because we've been seeing too many miracles :) 

Maria Fernanda is the best. She struggled a bit with her decision to get baptized but now that all is said and done, she told us that she feels amazing and that her baptism changed her life. She came with us to do a few visits and told all our investigator´s the same thing. Haha and now she´s inviting all her friends to listen to us and to come to church. I love her! :)

I´m sure you've all heard by now, but the church is really pushing the ¨He is the gift¨ campaign. If you haven´t already seen the video, watch it. It's amazing! We're sharing it with everyone and inviting everyone to learn more about the church through it. The invitation is to Discover, Receive, and Share the gift. I´ve really been studying and thinking a lot about these things and what it means for me, specifically how I can receive this gift even more in my life. I have a strong desire to apply the Atonement more in my life through repentance and doing my best to improve each day. Elder Nelson said that the Christmas season especially is a time para reflexionar en lo que podemos llegar a ser gracias a Él (sorry I don't really know how to say it in english). Thanks to our Savior we can become like our Heavenly Father. We can become perfect and each day is an opportunity to be perfected. Sometimes the process of refinement is painful and really humbling, but it's exhilarating to think that we are literally becoming Gods and Goddesses. I remind myself of my mom when I say that I don´t know anyone who needs the Atonement more than I do. I meet so many people every day with a wide variety of problems, but ya know what? It doesn´t really matter who we are or what we've done. We all need the Atonement, and because our Savior was willing to give His life for us, we all have the same potential. The truth is that I think this Christmas will always be one of my favorites just because I feel like I´m finally beginning to understand just how much my Heavenly Father and Savior really love me and all of you too.

12/1/2014

It´s Mee

To the beautifulest family in the whole world,

I love you all and I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I actually didn´t even realize it was Thanksgiving until we sat down to eat lunch and I realized I was eating grilled cheese instead of turkey. I got sad for about two seconds and then felt better because I remembered that we had oreos. :) I hope everyone is doing well and can get a little rest in before the craziness of Christmas :) I am so excited to talk with everyone in just three weeks! :)

Maria Fernanda got baptized on Saturday and the service was beautiful! The day started out with blue skies without a cloud in the sky, but as soon as we got to the chapel to fill up the font it started raining gatos y perros (just so you know, this saying doesn´t exist here. I got a few puzzled looks). We knew for sure Maria would get there just cuz she´s awesome but we were worried that none of the members would show up because nobody has cars and nobody likes to walk in the rain. We said a lot of prayers and a lot of people came and everything worked out perfectly. She is so happy and told us she feels like she was received very well by all the members. It´s really a miracle that everything worked out and I´m just really grateful to have played a small part in helping someone come unto Christ. :)

I love everyone and I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Con todo mi amor,

Hermana Robinson