Week 64 - Equally Yoked and Equally Stoked!!!

                                                                                                                                          April 25, 2016

This accurately describes the companionship of Sister Bell and I! :) So many miracles this week! So So many! We are so grateful and excited for the work that is going forth! :) 

I just don't know where to begin these emails anymore! 

Well, lets see. This week, we taught 33 lessons. What? Yeah. Sister Bell and I were sitting there Saturday night planning for Sunday, and we were asking ourselves why we were so tired. And then we counted the lessons. By then we were at 27. God is blessing our area. 

Highlights of the week:

Well, Exchanges! So good. So fun! :) I love the sisters! It is a lot different than I thought it would be, but it is good! I never understood how much effort Missionary leaders put into helping other missionaries. Or even how much they cared. It is neat to experience these things first hand! 

Tuesday I stayed in Mississauga, and was joined by Sister Allred- she's super cute! It was a lot of fun! Friday, I went to Etobicoke with Sister Brown and Sister Kehrer! Both of them are only in week 9 of the mission, but they are already such great missionaries! They are going to accomplish a lot. 

Thursday night, President and Sister Clayton came teaching with us!! :) Whooo! We went and taught a returning member Sister Phelan. (I feel like mom would really like sister Phelan!) We had wanted to talk to her about prayer, but as we got in there, she expressed that she didn't understand what she was reading in the Book of Mormon. So, we opened it up and started reading with her! We started where she had left off- at 1 Nephi 15:11. It was the perfect scripture for her! The entire lesson was centered around just that! The spirit was very powerful. I am so grateful for the Clayton's and their example! We followed up with Sister Phelan the next day on her scripture reading and prayer, and she expressed that she actually read. AND, she felt the spirit as she read and prayed. :) Wonderful isn't it! :) 

Saturday, we decided to go and drop by some LA members. The LA we had decided to drop by weren't home. So, we started working in the area. We talked to this old Iranian man walking down the street rolling a shopping cart with some bulky items tied to it. Turns out this man had met with missionaries for years! He used to come to the church each week with his wife! He had stopped because of health problems. But, he is excited for us to come back and talk to him more! Mohammad Zamir. He is sweet and we are excited! :) 

We had a cool experience with our RM- Sister Teepell. Sister Bell felt prompted to ask her about her baptismal day. So, we did! It brought back a flood of great memories. Her husband passed a few years ago, and she hasn't been very active since. But, asking her about that day, brought back a lot of fond memories of her husband- especially since he was the one to baptize her. After the lessons, she was willing and even excited to come to church! We also had a dinner appointment with her and an active sister, and she just felt so honored and so loved! It was a great experience and she has started to progress a ton this week! We are excited for her! :) 

I want to ask you all to not only invite the missionaries over for dinner, but also allow them to bring someone they are working with! When investigators, new converts, or even returning members feel loved by others in the ward, their progression doubles! It is so cool! Members have SO much power, I often times don't think we all realize how much! :) Do it! I can promise you cool experiences! :) 

Yesterday we had the chance to teach a Bible referral from mormon.org! His name is Stephen. It was one of the coolest restoration lessons I have taught! It was so simple and made so much sense. And, Stephen was just asking all the right questions! He would ask a question that was just about to be answered in the next point. We had to keep telling him to slow down! And just hold on. :P A funny moment was when we were talking about the Book of Mormon and how Nephi and his family were led to the promised land. Stephen, being from Africa, was slightly offended that the Americas had to be the promised land. Sister Bell immediately responded with, "Well, why did you come here?" and then we all laughed! ... It might very well be one of those things you had to be there for... but it was hilarious! :) 

Well, I think I am out of time... Not too sure... I've lost track...! haha time is just going these days- I don't pay attention any more. But, know that I love you! Know that life is great. God is blessing this area and I am grateful to be here to see it and help bring in about! 

I know God loves each of us! :) Have a great week! 

Sister Robison 

PONDERIZE 1 Npehi 15:11 (at least I think that is the one... :[])

Sister Bell and I taking a pic for a mission slideshow.  Don't let Pres and Sis Clayton See! :[] :)

Sister Allred and I on Exchanges stopping at Krispy Creme

Sister Bell and Sister Phelan and I! :) 

"Let's pray Sister Bell!" "Okay! (gets into this position)" :) Tired all the time! But we love missionary work! :) 

Week 63 - M-I-S-S-I-S-S-A-U-G-A

                                                                                                                                                            April 18, 2016

Almost as tricky as spelling Mississippi! :)

Well, this week has been a hoot! haha! I love it here! I forgot how much I missed the city. I LOVE the city. As much as I love and miss Napanee, nothing quite beats the craziness and the fast pace of the city! This week we have seen so many little miracles and some great progress in the area and it is really exciting! I can't wait to share some! 

For starters, a Sister Training Leader. The best way to put it is what the title says. Our job is to go on exchanges with the Sisters we are over, and to help train/encourage/motivate them to continue to do great things! We have 4 companionships that we are over- one of them being the Etobicoke Sisters!! (That means I get to go on exchanges to my first area, Etobicoke, and I am so pumped!) We will be doing 2 exchanges with each companionship so that the Sisters can each have a turn with Sister Bell and I, and a turn in our area! When I was extended the assignment, President Clayton stressed that the best way we can help the sisters we are over is to create a "model area" in our own area. So, that is what we are striving for! In total, we will have 9 exchanges, 8 with our own sisters, and then one other with another STL companionship. Beyond exchanges, as a STL we will, if asked to by the AP's or Zone Leaders, give instructions in Zone Councils or Zone Conferences. We also attend the Mission Leadership Council at the beginning of each month, and MCC meetings with the Zone Leaders, Mission President, and Stake president. So, it's crazy. It is busy, but it is good! It will be fun. I am thankful and excited to serve the Lord and the Sisters in this assignment! 

For my new address, just send everything to the mission office on Wanless dr. ... We are usually there at least once a week doing different things anyways. We live in the basement apartment of a LA family and sometimes they forget to give us the mail.. So, safest bet would just be the mission office! :) 

So, the ward, the area, and the companion! 

The Mississauga ward is crazy! There are SO many people! There are primarily 3 different languages spoken- English, Chinese, and Spanish. So, we have 3 sets of missionaries! Sister Bell and I- English; Elders Johnson and Flake- Spanish (which is crazy because Elder Johnson was both Sister Bell's and my district leader when we were in the same district while Sistrer Bell was in St. Cats and I was in Welland!); Sisters Skinner and Chen- Mandarin. (Dad! Sister Chen is from Taiwan! She and her family are recent converts and she is hilarious. It's fun!) Sacrament meeting is usually all together. After that, it splits into different Sunday school classes for different languages. Then, English and Spanish speakers will come back together for Relief Society and beyond that, I don't know yet! 

Every Tuesday evening and Saturday morning we teach ESL! .. Well, kinda. We do a program called Daily Dose that works more with teaching people conversational English instead of grammar and so forth. But, regardless, it is fun! It is strange because we see other missionaries almost every day... Say what? I am happy. It is fun. :) 

The area is huge! And by huge I really mean populated! There are so many people and they are from all over the world! I would have to say, Mississauga feels a little more classy than Etobicoke... haha! But, yeah. I don't think we are teaching any caucasion people...! We have some wonderful investigators from Hungary, Jamaica, Nigeria, and so forth! Back to the international area and I love it! Finding new investigators here is completely different than in Napanee! In Napanee, we tracted and door-knocked a ton to find. We strived to work around others and follow the promptings of the spirit. Here, we are finding through referrals and just going out and talking to people on the streets! We have had new investigators literally fall into our laps this week. So Neat. SO SO SO neat. 

Some people that we are working with that I want to tell about! 

Deneil. Deneil and his wife are from Jamaica. They haven't lived in Canada long. His wife had requested a Bible from mormon.org. Since then, missionaries have been teaching him more than her. Well, Deneil is solid! He knows that The Church is true! He openly admitted it yesterday! He is just working on deveolping more secure CPR habbits before he joins. He is so ready to be baptized. It is just helping him have the faith in himself to recognize he is ready! It will come in due time as he continues to repent and change little habbits. He has started reading more throughout the day, and even I can see a difference in him since the beginning of the week! He's golden! 

Kate and Kenneth and their daughter Karen (They have a younger son, but he's 6 so we can't teach him yet)! They are a young family from Nigeria! Kate is pregnant with her 3rd child. They also haven't been in Canada for too long! Missionaries have just really started working with them the past few weeks. They love the church. They love coming. We are starting at the beginning and they are accepting everything that we are sharing with them. We are so excited for them! Their biggest hang up is that they are hesitant to leave behind their "Catholic Culture." But, the spirit has confirmed to us that as they continue to learn more and understand more, this is something that will eventually disappear! :) They currently all have baptismal dates for May 15th! :D 

My Companion Sister Bell! She is awesome! Ever heard of Bell photography? Mostly used for school pictures and year books and so forth. That is her family! She is from South Weber, Utah. Her Birthday is on May 14th, and she will be turning 20! So, we're the same age. :) She played lots of volleyball in high school and she is funny! :) We served around each other for the entire 5 months I was in Welland (She was a new missionary then and being trained!)! And, served with each other in a trio for 1 week while I went without a companion in Welland! But, she is awesome. We laugh a ton and it is easy to say "We are equally yoked, and equally stoked"! :D hahaha it's awesome! 

Well, we are on to great things! Great things! I am almost out of time, so, pictures next week eh? I hope I've been able to answer all your questions! Have a great week and know that I love and pray for you! 

Sister Robison

PONDERIZE: come up with your own! :)

Week 62 - Back to the Lovely Weston Zone!

                                                                                                                                      April 11, 2016

Well, transfer news! I will be going back to the Weston Zone- where I started the mission! I am super excited!! :) I will be serving in Mississauga North with Sister Bell (who I was in a trio with for one week while in Welland/St. Cats area) as a Sister Training Leader! What?! ... Yeah, I'm shocked... haha! But, I have confidence in the Lord. Whom He calls, He qualifies and that gives me a lot of comfort! 

I just love Napanee! This place has captured my heart! I love the country! Just being able to drive and drive and see farm land and few houses and then the occasional small pocket of people! It is so fun! It's going to be strange to go back to a big city! ... ahhh! But, it will be fun! Sister Bell is so wonderful! We've been dying to be companions. :) (I imagine it kinda being like Nate and Elder Swainston...) teehee! 

Well, it's truly been the fastest 7 week transfer of my entire life! This transfer flew. I am terrified for the transfers to come! They will be a week shorter and so I am sure they are going to pass by before I can even blink! ahh!! haha it will be great. 

This past week was good! Nothing too too special to talk about. We had a great zone missionary meeting Saturday. Our Zone Leaders gave a great instruction on Family History and the power it has in converting! Since then, Sister Thomas and I have been teaching almost everyone we've met with about Family History! There is such a powerful spirit (perhaps the spirit of Elijah hmm?d:) That comes as we teach, talk about, and do Family History! I am excited to continue to use this to help others! I would also encourage you to do some yourself! I can promise it will help to pick you and your spirits up! There is always work to be done- indexing, finding more on your own lines, or inserting pictures and stories! I am excited to do more in the future! 

We had some good lessons with Mike and Tiffany this week! We primarily read out of the Book of Mormon because things have been so busy for them lately! I don't know if I told you last week, but they have a baptismal date for May 25th! -Tiffany's birthday! We are so excited for them! Last night we read the story of Ammon cutting off all the arms! I never thought the stories of Ammon and the arms and Nephi killing Laban could be converting tools, but hey, those are some of their favorite stories! We invited them to read the next few chapters since it goes on to talk about King Lamoni's conversion and God and many wonderful things! It was neat to hear Tiffany's response after we finished reading. She remarked that she had more energy. She was so grateful we were able to read! In her closing prayer, she apologized to God for not praying as much and being as diligent. It has been neat to be here and see them grow in testimony! I am excited for their family to some day be sealed in the temple. :) 

I have learned a lot in Napanee. I loved being able to serve in the branch! I have loved being able to serve along side sister Thomas! She is a powerhouse! She is just awesome. So willing to go and do. She is a great example! We have had a miracle transfer! We have seen the Napanee grow so much as we have been here! Both of us have been finding more and teaching more than ever before. It is amazing how much we can accomplish as we turn our will to the Lord's. I don't know what made all the difference this past transfer, but this transfer was one of the best yet. My faith in Christ has grown immensely. He is the reason for all that we do! As we have focused more on teaching and testifying of restored truths, and then always relating it back to Christ, we have been able to see the faith of others grow as well. It's just wonderful! 

I am thankful for the time I've had here. As our Branch Mission Leader would tell you, "Napanee is God's Country!" :) I am looking forward to this next transfer! Lots to learn, and lots to do! But, above all else, I just pray that I will be able to be an effective hand for the Lord in helping His children and His sister missionaries! I have so many inadequacies. But, none of us are in the work alone! Hip hip horray! :) haha 

Well, I feel that is all. Sorry if this letter has been scatter-brained! I love you all! I am excited! The work will go forth and it will be wonderful! The Lord is with all His missionaries in the work! It is a wonderful work to be a part of! :) 

Have a great and safe week! Love you! 

Sister Robison 

Ponderize:   3 Nephi 5:13

Week 61 - Oh! Email time again eh? .. I've lost all concept of time!

                                                                                                                                       April 4th, 2016

Well, it is certainly not everyday that you sit down to watch General Conference and then learn that major changes will be taking place in the mission you are serving in! We love President and Sister Clayton. We were surprised to hear his name called during the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference! But, we know that the Lord has great things in store and that President and Sister Clayton will be a wonderful tool in the Lord's hands and will be used to bless the lives of many in the following years. I am grateful for their examples and am excited to continue to learn from them! :) They will be with us until July 1st. I will be able to spend 1 transfer with our new mission president and wife before leaving the mission. (That also means the soon to be Elder Robison will be coming out under the new mission president! It will be exciting to follow the mission!)

This week has been good! We are continuing to work hard and to help others to come unto Christ! I love Napanee and the surrounding areas! The Lord is preparing the way and helping us to find those who are ready that He is already working with! 

As always, we LOVED General Conference! We watched it at the small Napanee Chapel with a few other members off a projector. I personally loved President Eyring's talk. I loved his focus on Christ. How this is Christ's conference. These are men called to do His work. This is His gospel! I think sometimes, it is easy to forget that and get caught up in the little details. But, ultimately, everything we do in the church is to help draw us closer to Him and our Heavenly Father! I loved it! It was just what I needed to hear and be reminded of this week! :) I also loved Elder Holland's talk and Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson's! I am excited to read and re-read these talks throughout the next 6 months! General Conference is amazing. I am grateful the Lord loves us and blesses us with inspired leaders to help us come unto Him! :) 

Exciting updates in Napanee! We are currently experiencing an Arctic Vortex!! Ah! Jokes. Sounds a lot scarier than it actually is. But, there is once again some snow on the ground.. :) We love the random Canadian Winters! 

Mike and Tiffany have a date for baptism! May 25th. The word of wisdom is their only hang up. We are excited to keep working with them and help them overcome these things and strengthen their faith in Christ! 

Roger, our 77 year old Catholic investigator is living the word of wisdom! He joined us for General Conference all day yesterday! There are so many talks that were just perfect for him! One of the things that peaks his interest the most is the temple, sacrament, and Holy Ghost. There were so many talks directed towards these specific things! We believe he knows it is true. :)  At this point there are just some social concerns in his way. 

One day this week we were out in the northern part of our area and, through a non-member referral, were able to find this super sweet young mom that is interested in listening to what we have to say! The added bonus is that her and her family already drive all the way into to Napanee to go to church there. We are super excited to back and start working with her and her family! 

God is so good. Sister Thomas and I have both gained a huge testimony of fasting this transfer. God is leading us to young families who are open to listening to the gospel and learning. The branch is so in need of young families! We are excited to continue to seek out those who will help to build the area up! It has truly been a miracle transfer and we are excited to finish it off strong! :) 

Remember that God loves you! Your Savior loves you! They are really there! They love you and want to hear from you often! Draw closer to Christ, and He will draw closer to you! 

I love you and hope you know that you mean the world to me! Have a wonderful week and always remember to Choose The Right! :) 

Sister Robison 

PONDERIZE: John 8:12

Thought you might love to read our Mission President's email! We love the Clayton's so so much! When we first heard the news all we wanted to do was cry... haha! But, it will be good. They are going to bless so many lives as they continue to do the work of the Lord! :) 

April 4, 2016

                                                                             

DEAR ELDERS AND SISTERS,              

The Lord blessed the mission with several baptisms with many more scheduled for the next weeks.  The Lord is working in his vineyard and we are here to teach repentance and baptize converts.

GENERAL CONFERENCE:

This particular conference was a sentinel experience for Sister Clayton and me.  We received the call to serve as a general authority seventy on February 4.  We couldn’t talk about it to anyone including our children until after theSaturday afternoon session of conference.  If you were surprised, just know that we were also.  I am grateful that the Lord would allow me the sweet privilege of serving Him in this new call.  Sister Clayton and I are particularly grateful that we will be able to continue to work in the wonderful Canada Toronto Mission until July when President and Sister Shields come to lead our mighty mission.

FROM SISTER CLAYTON:

To our dear, dear missionaries!

President Clayton and I are so grateful for you!  You fill our hearts and our spirits!  I am so grateful so know you all!  I wanted to add my little paragraph here to tell you how much we love you and how you will be in our hearts forever.  We look forward to the coming interviews when we can sit down with each of you.  

We miss you down here in Salt Lake!  We can't wait to get back to you!

We love you!

Sister Clayton

Week 60 - Dear ones and strangers!

                                                                                                                                      March 29, 2016

Hello hello family and friends! Dear ones and strangers! I hope you all had a lovely Easter and are looking forward to a wonderful Conference weekend! I sure am! Make sure you have at least one question in mind as you listen to the wonderful leaders of the church! 

This week has been good! I believe we've both been more tired than ever before... But that's because of how hard we are working! We've been finding more than I ever have in the mission which is SO cool because we're in one of the smallest branches in the mission! God has a plan for each of His areas and everything is possible as we turn to Him in faith and follow the promptings of the spirit! :) 

Sister Thomas and I think it was funny that the family chose this week to be in Costa Rica since we had some pretty nasty weather here! Freezing rain and snow and slush and so on. So, when we would come out of a lesson and scrape off the ice on our vehicle, we would just turn to each other and mention Costa Rica and laugh. It was cool fun! :) 

We had a really cool experience this week! I've been striving to let Sister Thomas lead a little more in some of the planning situations and so forth to help her feel and recognize and act upon the promptings of the spirit. We had a day where the plans went a little crazy. But we ended up dropping by and having a quick visit with one of our returning members in the hospital. While we were on our way to our next planned activity, we drove by some guy on the side of the street. I honestly thought little to nothing about it. But, as we got a few blocks away, Sister Thomas turned to me and let me know that we needed to go back there and talk to him! So, we made a box, found him, parked a few streets up and walked down to meet him. Woah! He is so prepared! Sister Thomas right away asked him if he knew of Jesus Christ, wanted to learn more of him, and if he wanted to join us for Church and he readily agreed to all of it! We talked to him a little longer and found out he had met missionaries a few years ago through his buddy. He didn't care for them much at that time. But since then, he's been to jail and back and is in need of filling the hole in his life. He wants to be happy! We were able to meet with him yesterday and He is just so ready to learn and to be a better person. He even talked about being a missionary some day and sharing what he's learned with others. SO neat! Miracles! He will actually be moving to Belleville (our District Leader's area) by the end of the week which will be really good. He can learn through Elders, and he will be in a branch with a lot of people that will be more relatable. We are so excited for him and to track his progress! It was great. Great for Sister Thomas and then just great all the way around! I love the spirit! :) 

We had a fun time meeting with Mike and Tiffany this week! It's so fun to hear their stories. God answers every single one of their prayers! Mike prayed for the longest time that he would get a new boss. His new boss started working with them this past week. Tiffany prayed she would have a good day at work and she did. The only prayer they haven't had answered yet is getting a million dollars. :D 

I love the Lord's work! Love it! We are working on getting members more involved. We have a lot of awesome investigators we are working with, and a lot who are just shy of progressing. Members are the key. It's going to be good!

I am doing well! I have been exhausted, but it is all for a good cause! Good things are coming. I've been praying about it and I know that it's time for the Napanee branch to grow. I am excited for what the Lord has in store for Napanee. 

Keep being awesome! Keep your chins up! God answers prayers! He loves you and will answer you! I promise! :) 

Much love! Sister Robison 

Ponderize: Matt 11: 28-30

Week 59 - Costa Rica....... Say What!!!

                                                                                                                                      March 21, 2016
Well, looks like you are all having fun in Costa Rica! Can I join next time? ;) 

We've had another really good week! We saw a lot of miracles. So much that I could say and could write that I don't even know where to start! Ahh! Well, I guess I could start out by saying that, with the Lord's help (because we can't do anything without the Lord's help, especially in HIS work) we were able to achieve the Standards of Excellence this week! It was a wonderful blessing! We are working hard, and more than anything, it is neat to see the progress in those that we are working with! 

Being in a small and old branch, we've been praying a lot to find young families. Something neat is that a majority of the potentials we have, as well as many of the new investigators we've found recently have been pretty young! This week we started teaching 2 young moms! We are hoping to get their husband/boyfriends involved soon as well! We told Tiffany and Mike, our investigators, and they're pretty excited as well! :) 

We had a really good lesson with our investigator Roger this past week. (He is the 77 yr old man who is very Catholic!) We basically sat down and asked him a TON of inspired questions. Some of the things we said were probably pretty bold and direct...But, the spirit was there and we all walked away feeling good about the lesson. Roger is doing well. He is actually now progressing! He, like Bob, has a lot of concerns. But, as he has been reading from The Book of Mormon, as well as specifically praying, it seems that he has been able to resolve a lot of  his own concerns! It is cool to see the spirit working with others. I hope Bob will take some time to read and pray about it as well! The Book of Mormon and the Prophet Joseph Smith are at the hearts of our testimonies, and are almost always at the heart of any concerns any one might have. 

You know those days where you are just exhausted from everything you have done in the previous week? It's one of those days! Haha :) It's been a good week. We've been working hard and having a lot of fun while doing it. As we continue to work harder and harder, it becomes easier to be open to the small promptings of the spirit. Heavenly Father blesses us as we seek to humble ourselves and do His will! It's the best. It makes missionary work the best. I am definitely no pro at anything in missionary work.. But! Having the spirit with us makes up for that :) 

Good things are to come. It is exciting! :) Enjoy yourselves this week! Be safe! Read your scriptures often! God loves you and so do I! :) 

Sister Robison 

PONDERIZE: 2 Nephi 2:6-8

PS, NATE! You're so old! 22! I told my companion you were old and she punched me... her 22nd birthday is in 6 months.. hehe :) 

Karly! Happy Birthday to you too! 16! What! You're still in diapers right? jokes. That is crazy. Everyone is growing up on me! It's bitter sweet. .. What a big year for our family! Fun fun fun! Babies, marriages, missionaries, university for Kelly, driving an dating for Karly. Woah. Well, I'll end my rambles now. Love you! :)