Week 72 - Communication is Key

                                                                                                                                           June 20, 2016

So, this week has been super long and super strange and yeah... Thinking back to what happened at the beginning of the week, neither of us can believe that it was this week! 

We began the week with exchanges with the Credit View Sisters! Sisters Allred, Capener, and Melesiea! (There was an ET. Sister Edwards went to the Hamilton Zone and Sister Meleisea joined these sisters!) They are wonderful! We got to do some gardening with other missionaries which was fun! Sister Meleisea is still struggling with headaches, but is hanging in there and just being awesome and fun and wonderful as always! :) 

The next day, we had our final Zone Conference with the Claytons, as well as my final Zone Conference in the mission. Strange... At the end, I gave what they call your departing or 'dying' testimony- all the missionaries that go home before the next bear their testimony... What the? Am I really that old to do that...? I guess... It was good though. I had a lot of past companions and good friends there. I love them! And, I love the Claytons! They are great! The Zone Conferene was a little unique... At the end, they gave us marriage advice. It was funny. They are cute. :) 

Then, the day following, we had exchanges again! I went on exchanges with Sister Bell! I just love her. Still do. Always will. She will always be know as the only companion i've had (at least up to this point) that has proposed to me. mostly jokingly. Mostly... teehee :) haha! I always learn so much from her! I am so glad she is my STL <3 :D 

Other notable things- We, the missionaries in the mississauga ward (us, our DL and his companion, and the 3 assisstants) got to judge the ward chili cook off! Talk about pressure! haha! Every chili I tasted, I just compared to Dad's. His is still the best in my mind! mmmmm. :)

The one thing I have been learning the most this transfer in so many different ways is how important it is to communicate. Communication is key. It will get you far in life. That is all I have time to say on that note!  

Other than that, nothing too crazy! Just regular missionary life! Helping my companions with some of her health problems, and just working through it together. I am so thankful for my healthy body. I have been greatly blessed. 

Well, that is all for this week! I don't really know what I wrote... but, I am out of of time! I Know that God loves you and knows you! He is really there! There is a plan for you! 

LOVE YOU ALL! 

live long and prosper. especially in the gospel.  (1 nephi 4:13)

xo, Sister Robison 

PONDERIZE: 2 Nephi 22:2

At my last Zone Conference--Last Picture with President and Sister before they leave next week.

Week 71 - Woooooh! What a Week!

                                                                                                                           June 13, 2016

You know those weeks where you sit back and say to yourself, "I am glad it is the weekend!" That is how I feel today- only replace the weekend with preparation day. :) haha! This week was more stressful than usual. But, that's okay. It is a new week! 

All in all, we had 3 exchanges (one after the other after the other) and a baptism! All good things! Just stressful and draining. :) 

The sisters this week were all great! It was fun! I got to spend Tuesday in Churchville YSA with an amazing sister there! Sister Paulsen! I love her to pieces! She is just the best. Then, I got to spend half of Wednesday and half of Thursday with Hermana Bahadur in Mississauga! She is great too! This is her 3rd transfer, but 1st transfer speaking spanish. INTENSE! Language missionaries are so COOL! There is a reason I was called to English work! Then, I got to spend Thursday evening and almost all day Friday with sister Kehrer in Etobicoke! I love Etobicoke. :) mmmm. Warms my heart! It's fun to be back in the same old apartment and see some of the members! Their area is on fire and it is awesome! :) 

Well, this all brings us to Saturday! Shaun was baptized for the remission of her sins!!!! Yay!!!! :) She is just so awesome. When we asked her who she wanted to baptize and confirm her, these were the words that came out of her mouth:

 "I don't care, as long as it's done by the proper authority." 

Yes. I did strategically space that on purpose. It is just so great! Look at it! She is the best. She is preparing to go to the temple in July to do baptisms for her ancestors that have passed on! She sent a media referral to Jamaica so missionaries can contact her father there. She introduced her mom to the missionaries in her area at her baptism on Saturday. She is excited for the gospel to link her and her family together forever! 

One of the other great things (besides her sharing the gospel with her family) was that in her confirmation blessing on Sunday, she was blessed the she would be able to find and marry a man in the temple and be sealed together for all eternity. SO HAPPY! To think about how this is just the beginning for her is SO COOL! AHHH! :) I love it! I love the gospel! It is so true! It is all about family. So cool. :) 

So, stressful. But, wonderful. It was a great week. I learned so much from the exchanges I went on. I learned so much from the meetings we had. I learned so much from my awesome and patient and loving companion! I learned so much in my personal conversations with God while on my knees. Just learning, and living, and loving it. 

I want to invite you to take a moment and talk with God today. He loves you. We wants to bless you. Ask for his help. 'Pray like it all depends on God, and work like it all depends on you!' 

Another great week to come! I love you! Enjoy having my cardboard cut out at home! I am looking forward to the family pictures and everything else! ;) 

Loves! 

xoxo Sister Robison 

Ponderize: 

D&C 1:20

Shaun was baptized for the remission of her sins!!!! Yay!!!! :)

Selfie with Shaun!

Ruen and Sister Kehrer! Ruen went LA after elders left etobicoke- when Sister Gillins and I whitewashed the north part. Turns out he went LA because he didn't really understand his baptismal covenant or much about the gospel for that matter. But, Sister Kehrer's companion is Jamaican and can speak their broken english language to him and now he understands and he just went to the temple for the first time in a long time! Yay! :) It was a happy moment to see him again and to see his smile light up! He remembered me! teehee!

Reminiscing.....Picture of Sister Maas and I from when I originally served in Etobicoke.

Week 70 - What A Week!

                                                                                       June 7, 2016
This was one for the books. Or for the Journal that I am super behind in.. :[] haha! 

We have been so blessed this week! It has been quite a busy one. We have been able to have many wonderful lessons with many wonderful people! We have also had the change to interact with President and Sister Clayton quite a bit! :) I shall explain. 

Mission Leadership Council was held on Wednesday. It was the last one with the Clayton's. :( We will miss them so much! I believe they will fly out on June 30th. President and Sister Shields will arrive on June 28th. We are excited for them to come and join us in the great work here in Ontario! I know they will be wonderful and steer the mission in the direction it needs! 

Two highlights from MLC: 

-Turn your doubts into questions. Sister Clayton spent about an hour with the Sisters talking to us about this very subject. She expressed how we need to take things that might be doubts, and simply turn them into questions. Then, we need to use all of our resources (mormon.org, the prophets, parents, leaders, scriptures, Heavenly Father, etc) to search out the answer for ourselves. As we do this, we turn something negative into something positive. She stressed how important this was to help us become truly converted disciples of the Lord and to become truly converted to the gospel. And, to be prepared to be parents one day to questioning children- to help them build their testimony and foundation. 

-Stand on your Foundation. This is President Clayton's new favorite thing! It is wonderful. He talked about what our foundation is made of- the experiences we've had in the gospel, the revelation we've received from God, the times we've felt the spirit, the times we've felt love from our parents, the time we've found answers or comfort the scriptures, and so forth. All of these things that have come from Heaven contribute to our foundation. He then stressed the importance of not leaving, stepping off of, or abandoning our foundation. Don't doubt the things God has told you. Don't leave them. When people do, they become much like the people in Lehi's dream who wander around in the mist, confused and lost. As missionaries and members, it is our job to have a strong and solid foundation. Be the light in the darkness, and invite others to come and join us! Helaman 5:12. :) I really appreciated both of these thoughts! 

On Thursday, we had a normal and buy day packed with appointments and lessons and good things! Things in our area are going really really well. God is blessings us greatly. Nothing too special. Just that we were busy and had to prepare for an instruction in Zone Council the next day. 

Friday! Zone Council! I love Zone Council. I have always received great revelation through it. President and Sister Clayton showed up for a small part of our zone council. Their input is always treasured. President Clayton talked a little more on building our foundation. It was great! :) 

Friday night, we were headed to an Active Member Lessons with a family in the ward. When we got there, we discovered that the member's non member grandson was there! So, we rounded him up, and taught him about the gospel, and had a sweet and new investigator who wants to know if the Gospel really is restored! The Lord is just placing people in our paths and answering our prayers! All. The. Time. I am so grateful! 

Saturday we had a lesson with Shaun in the morning and finished just in time for a member in the ward to pick her up and take her to a stake activity by the temple in Brampton! She was so excited, it was cute! :) She officially passed her Baptismal interview on Sunday and will be baptized this upcoming Saturday at 3! Keep her in your prayers! :) 

We spent most of Saturday in Brampton attending parts of the activity and weekly planning when we weren't. That evening, we came back to Mississauga to have a lesson with our other progressing investigator Violet and a sister in the ward, and the Clayton's! :) They are wonderful! It was a good lesson. I think Sister Nabhan and I were both a little intimidated by having the Clayton's there, but all in all, we feel it was a good lesson and was what Violet needed! She is working towards baptism and is just struggling to give up her smoking addictions. President and Sister Clayton offered great support and love to help her. :) 

I just adore the Claytons! It was nice to be able to learn from them and see them so much this past week. After the lesson we were able to sit and talk with them for a few minutes. It is going to be hard for them to leave, that I know. But, they are on to great things. We are going to miss them. So so terribly much. But, like I said, we are also looking forward to the Shields! They are going to be great. I am grateful that I will have some time to learn from them and their examples! :) 

I love this work. I love being a missionary. I love being able to serve the Lord. I love my companion- she is hilarious. I love this ward- the members are so great and so willing to help and support and friendship everyone we are working with! We love the bishop- he backed us out of our parking spot yesterday after church when it was absolutely pouring. We love serving the sisters here and look forward to the 3 exchanges we have this week. We, especially I, just love it. I am excited to keep loving it for the time I have left. 

God is good. So good. Pray to Him. Let Him know what's up. He will help you and bless you because He loves you. I testify! 

Sister Robison

PS......

One funny story! 

We've recieved 5 messages from SLC about a media referral- Ethel. So, we decided to make her priority and went to drop by her on Tuesday. She is a very busy lady and it just so happened she was home! She let us in and we started to share a quick restoration. Before we had begun she had remarked how she thought that people like us were trying to contact her a lot- even some boys. We had just brushed it off because there are a lot of JW's and others that do the same thing we do and often times others mistake us for them. Anyways, we come to the end of the lesson when Ethel's phone starts to ring. Someone was calling from the buzzer downstairs. She picked it up, and we heard our District Leader and his companion on the other side. Sister Nabhan and I started dying. It was so funny! They came up and gave her another Bible. They were shocked to see us there. It was great! :) 

Love you!

Week 69 - My 9th cousin 3 times removed says "This will be the best transfer ever!"

                                                                                      May 30, 2016
Well, hello there family, friends, loved ones, strangers, children of God! 

Things here in the big and lovely Mississauga are going well! We have seen so many miracles lately! So much to say, and not enough time! We will see how much I can crunch out! ... :) 

My New Companion! Sister Nabhan! 

She is awesome! She came out a transfer after I did. She is the closest companion in mission age that I have ever had! Kinda weird.. but cool! ... we just spent way too long on Relative Finder and found out that we are 9th cousins 3 times removed! .. I also learned that I am practically related to everyone in the mission! And, all 12 of the current apostles! :D Teehee! fun fun! 

Some of our investigators! 

Shaun! Baptismal date: June 11th.

She is so cool! A little while ago, she just walked in to church one Sunday! It was great! Missionaries had worked with her at some point. She lives like a two minute walk from the church and is now so so excited for her baptism! She is Jamican, in her 30's, and she is hilarious! :) She loves to shop, and clean, and read! In the past week or two she has read half of 1st nephi, and all of 2nd nephi! She is just soaking it all up! We love her! 

Violet! Baptismal date: June 18th.

Violet kills me! She is so funny! She has been through a lot of hard things in her life. A lot. She has some trust issues, and it is understandable! Her biggest trial to overcome right now is smoking. She smokes about a half pack a day and so we are really working with her on overcoming that! She has been taught by missionaries for a while. She had turned herself over to the Lord for a little while, and then decided to come back right before I got transferred in. Since then, she has REALLY been progressing and making those changes in her life that she needs to! She is actually learning and seeing the difference that it makes. It is so neat. 

They are great! I am so grateful the Lord has given me this opportunity to help them and work with them! 

Things with exchanges and Sisters continues to be crazy! We are over 5 companionships this transfer which makes for 11 exchanges total! Things will be a little tighter and a little more stressful, but all that much better! :) We love these sisters and just want to do all that we can to help! 

I was able to go on exchanges with Sister Edwards this weekend. My Baby from Welland! She is doing well! It was so fun to see her progress! She has grown a lot! I am so thankful for her! :) She is just a crack up. We had a good time! 

Something else of note is that we lost the Mandarin sisters in the ward. For a short time, the Chinese speaking AP's will be covering the area until numbers in the mission go back up. So, now Sister Nabhan and I have to cover both of the ESL groups! I took the lower class, and she took the higher class (we had originally covered the higher class as a companionship.) I love these people! They speak little to no English, but they are great! It is so fun to be there with them and to teach them! We use a program called Daily Dose which focuses on Conversational English. Google it. I am sure you will find something. The huddles are fun though. My group is primarily Chinese so it just makes me giggle! :) 

Things are going well! Unfortuately I have no more time. Sorry! But, know that I love you all so much! Shout out to Justin for graduating! And to Kelly for Graduating! You both are stellar! And shoutout to all you other family members and then soon to be family members! I love you and pray for you all each night! :) 

Take care! And pray sincerely! (Something that I learned I was very much lacking this past week or two. As I have repented and changed, I can tell you it really makes a difference! So, do it! It is one of the many keys to inviting the spirit into our lives and receiveing answers to our prayers! :))

Loves! 

Sister Robison :) 

Ponderize: your choice again! Sorry... haven't found one yet.. :[] 

-Sister Nabhan and  I have not taken any pictures together yet... We will repent! 

-I found a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in the Local Mall, so, CARAMEL APPLE! 

-Sister Bell and I found funny settings on my camera! 

-Sister Chen and I are matching!!! :D I like her! 

Week 68 - Transfer News

                                                                                                                                       May 21, 2016

:( Sister Bell is leaving me! How rude! She will be going to Hamilton. She will do great things there! I will miss her. Too much. But, instead of being my companion, she will now be my Sister Training Leader! And, I will be her's! So, we will still get to see each other. And, we can call each other often. Yay! :) 

I will be staying in Mississauga! It's a good place, I'm excited :) My new companion will be Sister Nabhan! She is great! She's been my Sister Training Leader a few times before. We have a funny relationship. We were just really good friends after one awkward interaction. Haha... I can't really describe it, but it will be good! :) 

Soooo what to say? I feel like I just talked to you..! Haha! 

Highlights from the week:

Exchanges with Sister Paulsen in Churchville YSA! YSA is awesome! Oh my. So many prepared people there. So many. Just friendly and good people. Sister Paulsen is awesome. I adore her. This is her first transfer, and she is already such a great missionary! Just all around awesome. I am excited to continue to see all that good that she will do! :) 

Exchanges with Hermana Meyer! I just want to learn Spanish now. In one of our lessons, we read Joseph Smith History verses 10-17. Sister Meyer had me read a couple verses. I had no idea what I was saying, but, he invited us to come back, so it must have been okay! haha! I was also told that I have a really good accent. So, who knows. I might just come home fluent! Jokes. But still. I want to! Anyways, it was fun. I love the bus. I love Spanish people. I love it all! 

One Thing That I've Learned This Week: Returning from a mission is going to be hard. 

I have talked to so many people this week in various settings who have all expressed to me how hard it was to come home from the mission. ... fun. haha. I am just taking it one day at a time. Striving to soak up every moment that I have and just trusting that everything will work out how it is supposed to in the future. 

I just love Sister Bell. She has taught me so so much this transfer! Part of me is afraid I will fall back into some bad habits that she helped me to brake... But, with the Lord on our side, anything is possible! Repentance is real. Now is the time for me to take everything I've learned and continue on! I am just so grateful to Sister Bell. She is awesome. 

Well, I think that's all for this week. I hope you have a great week! Stay safe. Keep reading, praying, and going to church. The Lord is with you! 

Loves! 

Sister Robison 

Ponderize: D&C 17:99-100  It is President Monson's most quoted scripture. President Clayton used it in a Specialty Leadership Training we had this past week. Diligence is key! 

-I love Sister Bell! 

-One of us all eating food- it was African food and it was spicy! Ah! 

-Our silly district. All Spanish missionaries, and then us! 

-Our silly district. All Spanish missionaries, and then us!

-One of us all eating food- it was African food and it was spicy! Ah!

-I love Sister Bell!

Week 67 - This Week Was A Blur!

                                                                                                                                 May 16
Okay! Time to write you a letter I suppose! 

First off, Welcome home Sister Heidi Robison! You are awesome. I am grateful for you example! :) I love you so much! 

Second off, Soon to be Elder Robison! I hope everything is going well! It's official. While at the mission office with my companion, we looked at people coming in/going home in the next few transfer, and your name was definitely there! Woot woot! We are excited for you! :) 

This week was loca. haha! So much happened. 

We had exchanges at the beginning of the week, and I got to stay in Mississauga for it! Yay! Sister Capener. She is just finishing her first 3 months of the mission! OH my. She is a GREAT missionary! :) I love her! She has a great desire to walk by faith and help others to come unto Christ! While with her, we found 4 new investigators! Blessings! Exchange miracles are so real. I am grateful I get to see them all the time! :) 

We also had an interesting day of exchanges on Friday. The original plan was for both Sister Bell and I to go to Etobicoke with the sisters there, then to divide and conquer and help them to contact referrals and so forth (because they have a million and have so much going on in their area!) but, that didn't end up happening quite as we planned. Tuesday evening we got the news that we were, from that point on, also going to be over the Georgetown sisters- Sister Melesiea (my Samoan companion from Bracebridge) and Sister Edwards (the sister I trained in Welland)!!! Crazy! So, sister Bell went to Etobicoke to help the trio there, and I went to Georgetown for the day to be with those sisters there! :) 

It was a special exchange in Georgetown. Those sisters are awesome. It was fun to be with them again. I love them so much! :) 

So, as you all know, Deneil was baptized this past Saturday, and was then confirmed as a Member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on Sunday! Deneil's a Mormon! :D haha! It was a happy day. Deneil is so prepared. He's been searching for a church most of his life and has such a solid testimony that this truly is Christ's church on the earth again today. He has received many personal witnesses and is so happy to be apart of it! We are excited to see him continue to learn and grow in the church, and to set an example for his wife and family members. 

Life here in the CTM is good. Most of the time I just forget that I am coming home slightly soon... It's just not on the forefront of my mind, and I'm hoping it stays like that! It's such a blessing to help others come unto Christ. It is fulfilling and I truly feel closer to the Savior through it all. I love it. I love being a missionary!  

I love Sister Bell. She is an amazing missionary. She continues to help me draw closer to Christ and give more to the work! She is cool and I also hope that I will be able to continue to serve with her! 

Because of Transfers and holidays next weekend, preparation day will be on Saturday the 21st instead of Monday the 23rd. So, I will be talking to you again then!  

I hope you have a great week! Love those you serve! Seek to be the Lord's hands! Do great things! :) 

Love  you so much! 

Sister Robison 

Me in a subway station

Sister Capener! 

Sister Meleisea and Edwards and I

Sisters Osman, Bell, Brown, Me and Kehrer! 

Toronto!

Subway Shot!      Kelly, Who am I?! :D 

 

Subway Travels! I miss this! :) 

Sister Bell, Sister Phelan, and I! 

Sister Heidi Robison's last letter from England

May 2, 2016

“Well this is Awkward…”

Hey family!

         This is officially the last email you will get from Sister Robison....THAT IS SO SAD!!! I can't even put into words how I'm feeling right now, it is all very very surreal to me that my 18 months is actually up. This has been the fastest and most rewarding 18 months of my life. Being at the end of my mission, of course everyone is asking me about the lessons I've learned and how I've changed on my mission. And boy, I have learned so much and I have changed so much! Overall there is SO much I could say in this email, I could go for days with all the lessons I've learned from my mission, but I guess that can wait for 10 days and you can all stay up all night listening to my testimony :) but until then, here's a bit of what I have learned the most!

         One of my favourite scriptures is Mosiah 3: 19 "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

         This is a scripture I have read time and time again on my mission, but I feel like it describes what my mission has been for me. Missions aren't easy, nor will they ever be easy, because Satan is trying every possible way to stop this work from moving forward, but I feel that over my mission I have constantly been putting off the "natural man" to become the daughter my Heavenly Father needs me to be. This isn't an easy task, any member of the church could testify to you of that. It involved a lot of tears, a lot of heartache, and a lot of asking "why?"  But one thing I know is that as you rely 100% on the atonement, it is possible. I don't understand the reason why some things are the way they are, but what I do know and understand is that I have a loving Heavenly Father who has provided a way for me to return home to him. I am in no way worthy for that at all, but oh how I am so very grateful for my Heavenly Father for providing a way for each of us unworthy creatures to return to him through his son Jesus Christ. Life is often referred to as a "test" or a "refiners fire" and something I've learned is that the closer you get to Christ, the harder the test becomes, and the more you are refined, because Heavenly Father knows you can get through it. We should take every trial that is placed in our life and shoot for joy because our Heavenly Father has provided it to us as a way to continue to put off the natural man and choose to yield to the spirit and work through things with the atonement.

         My overall goal of my mission from the day I got my call was to return home and simply be Christlike, I wanted to be someone who others could see the light of Christ through, I wanted to be someone who would act as he would, and be someone that anyone could tell without question that I believe and follow Jesus Christ. Now I don't know how well I've done at this, I still have a lot that I need to work on, but what I do know is that I have gained a firm conviction that Jesus Christ is my saviour and redeemer. He is my rock and as I put him and his gospel first in my life I will get through anything. It is possible to acquire these attributes, but like I said it isn't easy. But hey, life was never meant to be easy right? I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and is true. This book, as you know, has changed my life. If it weren't for the Book of Mormon then I wouldn't know my saviour like I do. When I got to Sutton I made it a goal to start using the BoM more in finding, and ever since then I have used it every single day and taught hundreds of people about why it's so important. As a missionary, I have gotten into the habit of always having a BoM in my left hand whenever we leave the flat. It is just always there and always ready to use. There have been a few days where I have forgotten it, or its in my bag, and I feel naked without it in my hand. I feel like I can't talk to people cause I don't have it to refer to, and I feel useless. This is very similar to our everyday lives. We have to have the BoM close by us, we have to be reading it for 30 minutes a day to stay safe in this world and to keep the armour of God around us. It is what provides us with the answers to our questions and it helps us to know the purpose of this life. The BoM is important people!

         I have also learned that I belong in England. Seriously, I feel like I am supposed to be here! I love this country and the people here so much. I love the food, all those vegetables, gravy, and Yorkshire puddings (yummy!). It is seriously the best country on the planet and I hope so bad that I will be able to visit a lot during my life. I think my heart will always long to be back here. The memories I've made here and the ways I've been changed here will forever be a foundation for the rest of my life.

         You know, it's a sad day to see your time serving the Lord end. I cry a lot now and kind of go into panic mode a lot...I don't know what my future has in store for me, but I know wherever it takes me I will be a follower of Jesus Christ. Thank you so much for all the prayers you have sent my way over my mission. They truly do help and I know that they have helped me do the work I have done. As I have pondered my mission and born my testimony of my mission many times this week I have felt the spirit confirm to me I have done what the Lord needed me to do. Am I sad? Yes. But at least I can look back with joyful memories from my mission.

         So ya. This is awkward cause I still don't really feel like I'm coming home next week...but I guess I am...so get ready!

         Oh, and this week was really good too! Most of our investigators dropped us, so that was sad, but it didn't stop us! We had zone training, I went on exchange with Sister Bills and basically cried the whole exchange cause I don't want to go home, and then we went to Eastbourne for an exchange as well (I also cried there cause it's the last time I'll see the English Channel as a missionary). But I can fill you in on all the details when I get home!

         I love you all, I love my saviour, and I will forever be grateful for the time I have been able to spend in England serving the Lord and helping others to come closer to him!

Love,

Sister Robison xx