Week 3 - First Full Week in Toronto

                                                                                            Feburary 17, 2015



Dear Family and Friends,

Due to Family Day, an awesome Canadian Holiday, preparation day was moved to Tuesday!

Canada is awesome! Very very chilly, but great none the less! We got down to -40 with the wind chill the other night. It was much fun!

So, I am serving in the Etobicoke (Eh-toe-bi-co) Ward, and because we share the ward with the zone leaders, my companion and I cover the south end of it. So, we are right along the great lake of Ontario I believe! We can actually see it from our apartment is you look to the far right. My companion is indeed the one Elder Carter mentioned to me before I left. Funny how things work out like that! Her name is Sister Maas. She is originally from Colorado, but her family moved to Indiana a couple years ago. She was at college by then though. She is awesome! She is so friendly and is such a great example! We get along very well! At least I think we do... haha! We are in a bus area, and have the privilege of utilizing the public transportation! It is great fun! I am grateful to start off in a bus area though. Because we are on the busses, we are constantly talking to all sorts of people. This is good for me though! I am constantly pushing myself out of my comfort zone as I sit down and start talking to strangers! Out of the week I have been here, I have only talked to two completely sour people. So, people are generally very nice and open to talk about whatever the conversation leads to! (We try to always tie it back into the restoration). Prior to my arrival, Sister Maas has been working very hard to get to know the ward members well. So, she has also been working extremely hard to get dinner appointments! The members feed us about three or four times a week which is pretty sweet!

We are currently working with about 8 or 9 investigators, and have two pretty solid potentials that we are excited to meet with in a few days! We are also working with a lot of less actives and a lot of recent converts. With no car and all these people to see, we stay really busy!

Best part of my week had to be a lesson we had last night with a man named Henry. So, we thought Henry was this old man from Holland that I had talked to on the bus. But, as we learned from when he showed up last night for our first meeting, he was definitely not that man! One of the sisters who was here before us talked to him. He was finally ready to hear what we had to say! We taught Henry about the restoration. To make it even better, it was a member present lesson, and it took place in the church building! So, the spirit was so strong. Henry was so prepared to hear and to accept the gospel! His only struggle is going to church. This man is SO dedicated to everything he does, and from what he told us, is one of the best employees, but also one of the only dependable employees at his work place. Getting him to accept a baptismal date for March 22nd was easy compared to getting him to commit to talk to his boss about getting Sundays off for church! But, the spirit was so strong in the lesson, and it was amazing to watch as the spirit taught him the truthfulness of the message we were there to share. The spirit is the real teacher in this work, not the missionaries. But, it is important that the missionaries are in such a place that they are able to bring that spirit!

The field is completely different than the MTC! But, a good different. Out here, I am learning so much! I wish I had time to talk about all the things that I have experienced and learned! I have been working hard on staying focused on the work, and forgetting about myself. Elder Bednar gave a great MTC address in 2012 called the character of Christ. To summarize, the Character of Christ is all about turning out, and turning away from the natural man. Every time I sit down and start talking to someone, my spirit has won a small battle against the natural man that is telling me to just sit there quietly. It is not something I think we can ever completely overcome in this life because we are mortal, but it is something that we need to always be working on!

I hope I have answered all your questions! I am doing so well out here! I am learning to work hard, and to love it! Have a great week everyone! Remember to read your scriptures and say your prayers! We must pray to develop a relationship with our Heavenly Father. We must read the scriptures because the scriptures are ESSENTIAL for conversion. I don't care if you have already been converted. If we are not reading our scriptures, we will lose that conversion! That may sound harsh, but I only say it because I love you and I know it is true! :)

Anyhow, have a great week!

Sister Robison

PS, my address is:

52 Maebelle #2315

Toronto, ON

M9A 4X9

I would love some hand written letters, thoughts, or talks! ;)

 Katie's Missionary Trainer, Sister Maas.  Interesting for those of you here in Las Vegas, Sister Maas is from Elder Carter's home ward in Indiana.  He had told us about her before Katie left on her mission.  She is excited to be serving with her right now.

Katie's Mission President and his wife....William Weatherford T. Clayton and his wife, Lisa Thomas Clayton, have lead the Canada Toronto Mission since July 1, 2014.

President and Sister Clayton are from Eagleridge Ward in North Salt Lake Utah Stake. Brother Clayton is a former stake president, counselor in a stake presidency, bishop, ward Young Men president, ward mission leader and missionary in the Canada Montreal Mission. His is an obstetrical hospitalist for an OB Hospitalist Group.

Sister Clayton is a former stake Relief Society president, counselor in a stake Young Women presidency, ward Relief Society president, ward Young Women president and volunteer institute teacher.