Week 45 - A Language of Faith, and The Christmas Season is Upon Us!

                                                                                                                                  December 14, 2015

147 Richard Street Apt #4

Bracebridge Ontario

P1L 1J3 

Hello hello hello :) I love you! 

I hope you have had a good week! This week felt and seemed pretty uneventful. Still trying to get to know the area. Still trying to get to know the ward. But, it has been great! Sister Meleisea count ourselves very blessed! Still no snow for us! Everyone here is shocked, and are all afraid it is going to come all at once! We like to joke that Sister Meleisea and I brought all the warm weather with us :) 

A major highlight of the week was the day we spent in Brampton!Wednesday night we made the 2 hour and 15 min drive down to Brampton, spent the night with other Sisters there, and had our Christmas Zone Conference the next morning! It was a wonderful meeting filled with the spirit! One of my favorite instructions given was on a language of faith. That is one of the things Elder Perkins felt strongly that our mission could use and improve on. Coming to this new area, with a new companion, I have been able to see just how influential and important a language of faith can be! Sister Meleisea is such a happy person! It is hard to not be laughing while with her! This plays over into our contacts. When we talk to people, we are happy! We are smiling, and enjoying ourselves. I believe that as we are this way, others are able to actually see the light within us. They are more easily able to feel the spirit, and this will lead to them desiring what we have! One Brother made the remark in our Ward Council meeting yesterday that we have in our lives the Fullness of the Everlasting Gospel! What more could be better! And yet, when we come to church, and go about our lives, we often don't show it. But, as we have a language of faith, as we show our light, as we look for the good, other are going to see that. They are going to desire that! Helping others come unto Christ is going to be simple and easy! I am excited to continue to implement having a language of faith into my work! I know that we will see blessings come from that! 

It was a great Zone Conference. We sang many Christmas Carols, and enjoyed time with other missionaries and President and Sister Clayton. I got to hear Sister Maas' dying testimony- sad, but it was wonderful! She gets home on January 13th! 

The best part about it all is that our entire zone got to go to the temple after the Conference! Warmed my heart. It was a great Christmas gift! The Sudbury zone never goes to the temple because we all live so far away, so it was a major blessing!!! I loved it. We made it to the 5:15 session which meant we got out closer to 7:30/8 ish. Just in time to grab dinner, and head back to where we stayed the previous night! It was a great time. We were both exhausted the next day, but wouldn't trade it for anything! 

In comparison, the rest of the week was not too exciting. Just normal missionary stuff. We were able to do some service in a small town called Baysville. They had a Christmas Community dinner that a couple of our members were heavily involved. It was a great way to get into the community and show them we are here to serve! We also helped put out our Ward Christmas Party! Dad, you would be so proud of me! We were in charge of setting up the Projector and A Savior is Born Video, and since my companion is unfamiliar with a lot of the equipment, it was left to me. I am glad to say I did it successfully! It was a nice touch to the end of the program. 

We spent most of the day yesterday inside. Sister Meleisea had a major migraine. We were able to make it through Ward Council, Sacrament Meeting, and Sunday School before coming home so she could rest. It gave me a nice Sunday to read my scriptures, study conference talks, and get caught up on some other things around the apartment! Althouhg, by the end of it, I was practically just wandering around the apartment looking for other things to do to keep me busy and productive...She is feeling a little better today, and we are hoping that she will continue to feel better and better so that we can go out and work tonight! 

Well, I love you all! Hope you are staying warm! The Christmas Season is just around the corner! I would invite you all to check out the website if you haven't already, and share it with your friends! :) 

https://www.mormon.org/christmas/purpose-of-a-savior 

Love you! Merry Christmas!

Sister Robison 

PONDERIZE: Alma 7:10

Week 44 - Moose Meat, Bikes, and Mustaches!

                                                                                                                                December 7, 2015

Good Morning! I hope this letter is finding you all well! :) 

This has been a great week! We have worked hard and have had lots of fun while doing it! Bracebridge is a beautiful area! It kinda reminds me of a cross between Idaho- Island Park area, and Midway! Strange, but that is what comes to mind! It is a rather large area with even smaller towns. Welland had approximately 53,000 Bracebridge has 16,000. Finding new investigators is going to be fun since my companion has only been here for 6 weeks and it already sounds like she has worked over the entire town and the other small towns as well. But, I am excited. The Lord always seems to put prepared people in our path! 

This week, I had a lot of firsts! To name a few, I ate moose meat, I rode a bike in a skirt, my companion and I wore mustaches for our district meeting, we skyped in for district meeting, I am doing language study, and the list goes on! :) 

People up here eat moose. It's a regular occurrence... It tasted pretty similar to beef, but a little different.. haha! A Returning member apparently hunted the moose and then gave a ton of the meat to the missionaries! Once we get our oven fixed we are going to try and cook a Moose Roast! :D 

Our area is pretty big. I believe it would take at least an hour to get from one side to the other. Our Ward Mission Leader lives about 50 kilometers away. So, with that being said, on those days we stay in Bracebridge, we walk or ride bikes as much as we can. Save the K's! 

Sister Meleisea and I are the only sisters in our Zone. So, when we skyped in for district meeting, we couldn't help but wear some mustaches so we could fit in! :D They all got a good laugh out of it :) (We skype because for all of us to get together, many of us would be traveling for hours... So, mom and dad, there is a good chance I will be skyping at Christmas!)

Sister Meleisea is such a goof! She is from originally from Samoa. At age 17, she was adopted by a family in California who are members, and that is how she came to join the church! Her English is really good! She didn't learn much in California because her mom and some of her family there spoke Samoan. But, we have fun! She is always singing, doing something silly, or telling me funny stories. I love her! This will be her 4th transfer in the field. She has such a powerful testimony, and is a hard working missionary. I am really excited about this transfer. Our two companion ship goals are to work hard and have fun! So far, so good! 

I was able to talk to my mission president briefly at transfers. We were able to talk about my companion. She is now in a Tri in a very busy area where the work is going really well. I am sure that is going to help her a ton! We talked about my last area a little and he reassured me that next transfer, if not the one after that, missionaries would be heading back to it. And until then, some neighboring missionaries would be continuing on the work there. Then we talked about my sickness, and he gave me a blessing. He rebuked the illness and commanded my systems to all work together for my good. He blessed me with added strength to go out and do the Lord's work. It was a really special experience. I don't think I have ever had so many priesthood blessings in my life... I think I had 4 in 1 transfer... 2 from my mission president, and 2 from my zone leaders! But, after the blessing, pain and sick feeling from my stomach subsided and went away. I checked my throat the next day, and the white dots were gone! I was still experiencing some pain in my throat throughout the week though. However, this morning, I woke up and it was gone. I know that is because of the prayers and fasts that were said for me. Thank you so much. I am so grateful for this gospel. It is true. The Priesthood is real. Fasting is real. God loves all of us! He loves me, and he loves you! :) The last thing President Clayton said to me before I headed out the door to find my new companion was hat what I did this past transfer was hard, but now he just wants me to work hard and have fun! That is exactly what we are doing, and what I plan on doing for the rest of my time on the mission! Time is going to just fly by! That is a scary thought... but good at the same time! 

Know that I am really happy! I love my area. I love my companion. I love feeling better and being able to do the work! I have not heard from Dr. Opper yet and don't really know if I will. But, things are going well! The ward is very loving! They have tons of activities throughout the month so I will be able to get to know them well! It is great! The amount of people might be somewhat small, but their hearts are big! Get this, our bishop is only 30 years old! So young! Its great though! 

Thank you for everything! I hope you all have a good week! Have fun, read your scriptures, and laugh lots! :) Love you! 

Uso Ropeni

(Sister Robison in Samoan! :D) 

PONDERIZE 3 Nephi 18:24

Week 43 - Be Careful What You Pray For.......The Frozen Chosen!

                                                                                                                   November 30. 2015
So, this week was good and weird and fun and strange and so on... :) 

A note to the family! I love you! I am so glad you had the missionaries over for Thanksgiving dinner! It is so nice when we get to join a nice family for their family holidays! Makes it actually feel a little like a holiday! To be honest, even with all the festivities, I don't feel like I am that Homesick at all. There is too much for me to do and think about here to be worried about or thinking about being home and doing all that great stuff! It is a good thing! :) 

So, Transfer News! I will be moving to what I believe is the Northernmost zone in the mission! Sudbury Zone! BRRRRR!  I will be in Bracebridge with Sister Meleisea! I believe she if from Tonga or Samoa! I am super excited! It sounds like it is going to be fun! The Welland Bishop laughed at the idea of a Las Vegas girl way up North. :) (We have had really good weather here in Welland lately! It has only dropped below 0 cel a handful of times!) Sister Edwards, my companion right now, will be going to Cambridge in the Kingston Zone in a trio with 2 other wonderful Sisters! We are excited. The hardest part was finding out that our area will be closed for a while due to lack of missionaries to fill areas... It broke our hearts a little... It's sad, but I know that God has a plan, and this is probably just what the Welland ward needs right now! The members here are absolutely wonderful! I have grown to love so many of them over the past 5 months, and it is going to be hard to leave! I just hope that I have done what I needed to to help them all learn, grow, and come closer to the Savior! 

Last Sunday, we participated in a car fast! This meant we were on foot or getting rides everywhere! With that being said, we decided to walk to church and be obedient and do our best! The idea behind it was that we would talk to people we saw along the way. We walked for an hour and half, and talked to 5 people... :) But, the neat thing was that the next day, 2 new investigators literally fell into our lap! We loved it! J and G. J has been meeting with missionaries for about a year! At one point, she was actually baptized, but never confirmed.... Anyways, she came to visit her boy friend for a few days and ended up getting kicked out of her place, loosing all her stuff, and long story short, they are now living together and engaged! G is super sweet. He wants to join the US Marines! He claims he doesn't believe in God. We think it's more that he doesn't want to admit there is a God for various reasons. None the less, they are awesome! We were able to have a few visits with them throughout the week, then Friday, they came to the Ward Christmas Party, and stayed to the end! They also came to all 3 hours of church on Sunday, and G even borrowed his brother's suit! And then to top it all off, That evening they came to a Why I Believe Fireside! This has been awesome! This has also given the ward a great opportunity to get to know them, and love them, and now take care of them! 

As for my illness... Well, this week we drove out to Brantford to be seen by a Dr.Opper! He is a member, and while he is not working and doing what he does, he sees sick missionaries! I got some blood work done this morning, and we are waiting to hear back from that to know what the next step is. If it is Mono, like he think it might be, then I will just work through it as best I can! (If I go home now, I will never get back out!) If it is not, then I will most likely go to an ENT and see what else can be done. ... Regardless, I am learning how to go about using the atonement in a very different way! I have to rely on My Savior for help and energy to get through parts of the day and still function. It is a little frustrating feeling like I am not able to give the work my all, but I have come to realize I still am, my all right now just isn't exactly where it was a couple months ago. Hey, God answers prayers! I prayed to be humbled. I just didn't think it would come like this! :D 

Anyways, I love you all! Thank you for all that you have done and continue to do for me! I hope you have a good week! Here I go, off to be one of the truly frozen chosen! :) 

Much love! Sister Robison 

Week 42 - Revelatory Experiences and Miracles!

                                                                                                   November 23, 2015

Hello family, and friends! 

I am glad to say this week was really good. We saw a lot of miracles, felt the spirit, and learned a lot! 

We had the wonderful opportunity of hearing from Elder Perkins of the 70 on Wednesday. I am so grateful. This was just what I needed at this time! It was wonderful to hear from him, his insights, and testimony. The meeting was full of little miracles that I would love to tell you about! 

We had spent Tuesday night in Hamilton with our Sister Training Leaders so there was not quite as long of a drive the next day to Kitchener where the meeting would take place. As I was driving there in the morning, I started to feel sick once again. Just an over-all unwellness. As we sat down and the meeting began, the feeling only worsened. I was so frustrated! I could hardly focus on what was going on because I just wanted to curl up in a ball, lay on the floor, and cry due to how I felt! Finally, after about a couple hours or so (I'm really not sure), we went into a brake. At that point, I turned to Sister Edwards, relayed to her how I was feeling, and then started actually crying. I just didn't know what to do! I wanted to be involved in the meeting, and learn lots, but that was not happening. Thankfully, a Sister I am pretty close to came over, saw what was happening, and took control of things. A few minutes later, I was sitting in a room with the Zone Leaders getting another blessing for my sickness. As soon as they laid their hands on my head and started speaking, I began to feel better! Peace entered into my heart, I felt the spirit, and the sick feeling went away! Even better, it stayed away for the rest of the meeting. I am so thankful for the priesthood and for that blessing! 

The meeting was just what I needed! We talked about building faith in our investigators, and in our selves. We talked about teaching simply, asking inspired questions, our purpose as missionaries, the Doctrine of Christ, and many other important missionary things. One of my favorite things that Elder Perkins talked about was receiving revelation in meetings. He talked about how he wishes he could eliminate the word meeting from the church! Often times when we think of meetings, we think of something long, potentially boring, that we have to attend. He then went on to say that he wishes he could replace the word meeting with "Revelatory Experience." When we go to a meeting, and expect to be inspired by the speaker, we are going to be acted upon. We never find answers or learn through this way, and meetings are going to continue to be boring and long. It is our own responsibility to make meetings a sacred place where we can receive revelation! In order to make a meeting a revelatory experience, we need to come with questions. As we have questions, we are acting. We are then searching for answers through the spirit, and we will be able to have those testimony building experiences that God answers our prayers and that He loves us! I loved his insight! I would invite you to always attend all future meetings with 1 or 2 questions in mind. I know that as you do, you will be able to get answers, and allow the spirit to work within you and help you! 

I could go on forever about the things that I learned. It was a special experience for me, and it became even more special when I had a moment to talk with Elder Perkins at lunch, and indeed found out that he served as Dad's assistant when Dad was first starting his mission! That was another miracle! :) 

I was grateful for the long ride home to Welland after the conference. It was pretty silent due to how spiritually worn out we all were, but it was good. It allowed me a long time to ponder on everything that I had learned and the work that I am involved in right now. Somewhere in the past couple of weeks, I had taken upon myself a "Wo is me" attitude. As I realized this, I realized how dumb that is! I was able to continue to receive revelation in the car as to what I could do to change and better this work and my attitude. 

The conference was a real turning point for me for many different reasons and I am grateful! 

Another thing that I am grateful for was the chance to ponderize "Count Your Many Blessings!" This was a great way to open my eyes and help me to change my attitude towards things. I have so many blessings, I just need to make sure I stop, take a moment to look around and notice them! I hope you had just as wonderful as an experience pondering upon the words as I did! :) 

Yesterday was also a great day. We had the chance to hear from Elder Perkins again! As well as President Eyring and others at the Montreal Temple Dedication! And, Elder L. Whitney Clayton gave the dedicatory prayer, so that was neat for us! We love the Clayton Family! I love temples and cannot wait to go more when I get home! :) 

The week continued on, and we saw some great miracles! One being another member referral! These members do a wonderful job at living and leading by example. An older sister in the ward called letting us know that her son's friend wants a church and wants to meet with us! We gave him a call, and will be meeting with him on Tuesday! We also received a referral from SLC! We will be meeting with that gentleman later tonight! Miracles happen as we endure with love and patience and diligence. This I know to be true. Welland is starting to go places, and I am very excited about the work! 

I am still feeling a little sickish... I am on medication number 4, and we will see where it takes me! I am just getting to know the people at the Walk-in-clinic very well! :) The work goes on though, and so will I! Perseverance brings blessings! (Don't worry mom, I am not pushing myself more than I am able!) 

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving (don't worry, we will be eating an American Thanksgiving meal with a family in our ward. More Turkey!) And stay warm! :) Much love! 

Sister Robison 

PONDERIZE: Alma 34:31

That time last week where we went out and worked despite the less than 
dismal weather. But hey, we were happy! :) 

We both got something in the mail on the same day!  It was a happy day! 

Week 41 - Family and Friends

                                                                                                                   November 16, 2015

Hello hello! 

What a few couple of weeks it has been! I have definitely been learning lots. 

For the most part, this week was pretty good. We have gone out and worked more this week than we have in a little bit! This week our zone had a huge focus on inviting people to church! We decided collectively that each day from 4-5, we would all go out and invite all that we saw! This was good for both of us! It gave us a set time to OYM and as well, a great reason to talk to people! In the past few transfers, contacting and talking to people has become my favorite part of the day! I love finding time, and I have definitely felt withdraws from not being able to do much of that each day, so it was so nice to be able to get out and open my mouth!  

A large struggle of the week has been my throat (as well as some other symptoms). Of course, my throat decided to act up the same time the weather decided to act up, and all at the same time the zone decided to do this challenge! I reassured Sister Edwards we were going to work through all the rain and wind and cold for the hour each day! It was going pretty well until the weather on Thursday got kinda nasty... We lasted for 40 minutes before my throat hurt pretty bad, my ears ached, and Sister Edward's legs and face were numb... Then we called it good for the day. The worst part was waking up Friday morning... I am sure I looked pretty miserable at district meeting that day... :) But! That is okay. We found some wonderful potentials- many of which have been looking for a church! We are looking forward to working with them in the future! And, don't worry, we decided to take it easier the rest of the week. We went to our appointments, and filled up the remainder of times with other productive things in doors. But! This week looks like it is supposed to be much warmer, and my throat should be better by the end of the week! So, hopefully we will be able to keep trucking on! :) 

We had a really neat lesson with one of our newer investigators Kim this week. It was our second time meeting with her. She is a chatter box, and loves to talk about all the things she has learned and seen throughout her life! It is a bit of a challenge to keep her on topic, but, we did it! We were able to talk to her about the Book of Mormon, and shared the first vision as well as Moroni's Promise (Moroni 10:3-5) with her! She SOAKED IT UP! She loved it! The spirit was strong, and she was just waiting for more! She quickly agreed to read the Book of Mormon, as well as to be baptized if she came to know it was true! It was one of those lessons where everything was good. Happy day! :) 

This week, we had the chance to participate a lot with the young womens! Sister Edwards and I were invited to speak at the Young Womens of Excellence night! We both spoke on specific virtues as well as some of the experiences we have had throughout personal progress, and how it has helped us in our lives thus far. I had the opportunity to speak on Divine Nature. As I was looking at the Divine Nature Value, I realized that that was quite easily one of the most important and influential values for me. That is the value that challenged me to improve my relationship with Kelly! Our relationship went from rocky to solid, and part of the credit is given to that, and the other to my parents. I am so grateful for it though. I wouldn't trade my friendship with Kelly, or any of my other family members for anything! Anyways, it was a great evening, and we were grateful to be there to support the young womens program in the Welland ward. Though it may be small (4 active girls), they are great! Sunday, we were able to teach a lesson in young womens as well! The Young Womens President asked us to speak on President Nelson's talk, "A Plea to My Sisters." (I was excited when I heard that Bishop Yamane spoke on that talk at the Summerlin Young Womens of Excellence night as well! It is such a great talk!) I would invite all of you to read it. 

All in all, a good week. A better week! And, it looks like we have a good week coming up. On Wednesday, we will be headed to Kitchener for a Zone Conference with Elder Perkins of the 70! We are very excited and look forward to learning from his remarks and instruction. 

Thank you for all your prayers and well wishes. I love you all and am so grateful for all that you have done and continue to do for me! :) Have a great week! Loves! 

Sister Robison 

PONDERIZE: This week, instead of doing a particular scripture, we are 

going to do a Hymn! Hymn number 241, Count Your Many Blessings. 

I am excited and hope you enjoy! :) 

PS mom and dad, I will get a pic for you next week! and, if you are planning on it, don't send a chirstmas package until the 29th. Transfers are coming up and there is a good chance I could be leaving! If you want to send it early, you can send it to the mission office 

Week 40 - I love Daylight Savings

                                                                                                                              Nov 2, 2015

Hello! I don't have much time! We spent the morning at Niagara Falls! 3 times with 3 different companions, and going strong! 

This past week was a little bit of a rollercoaster for many different reasons! We had Exchanges on Wednesday which was lovely! I spent the day in Hamilton with a wonderful sister from Germany! It was one of those days where nothing goes as planned, but you have fun and roll with it anyways! It was much needed. I learned so much from her!  

The middle of the week was a little slower.. But, by the end of the week, with some help from some other missionaries, we found 5 new investigators! This is huge because the past few weeks, I don't think we found any! Miracles are happening! 

I hope you had a fun Halloween! It looks like Kara and Justin did! We were in by 6 pm working on various things and weekly planning.

We had a really cool contact yesterday. We went to drop by a potential. At first, we were pretty blunt about asking if and when we could share some more of our message with her. She pulled back a little. We then spent about 20 minutes just talking to her and loving her, and getting to know her. Eventually we turned the conversation to Christ and the Book of Mormon. We taught and testified to her all about how the Book of Mormon helps us to learn and draw closer to Christ. By the time we were done talking to her, she became a new investigator! She could see how excited we were about our message, and she wants to know why and how it can help her! It really taught me that first we need to love these people, then we need to testify and share what we know to be true. Love people. That is the key to everything! 

Well, I hope you have a great week! I love you! Keep reading your scriptures, and if you like, 

Ponderize 2 Nephi 25:26! 

Much love! 

Sister Robison 

Sister Edwards and I at Niagara Falls

America is So Close!

Week 39 - Ahh! Time is low!

                                                                                                               October 26, 2016

Ahh! I was responding to a lot of emails and forgot to make much time for this email! My apologies! 

To be honest, this week has been a little rough! We are working hard and as far as investigators go, we seem to just keep loosing them! Between getting deported, moving to other parts of Canada, or just a new found lack of interest, they all seem to be disappearing! It is a little rough. But, we are continuing to extend our faith. As we do so, we start to see miracles in other phases of the work. For example, last Saturday night, a Recent Convert (of a couple years)/ Less-Active member that has been on the ward focus list since before I even arrived in the area, texted us asking about times for church. She has tended to be pretty flaky, so we didn't have a ton of hope. But, much to our surprise, she and her daughter showed up to church! And then, they proceeded to stay for the remainder of the meetings! They did leave the 3rd hour early- her daughter was not feeling well, but made sure to let us know how much they loved being there later that day via telephone. We set up a time to come down and teach them a lesson, and once again, they surprised us by really being home! We were able to reteach them the restoration- explaining to them that as we re-teach them the missionary lessons, they will be able to re-build their faith. By the end of the lesson, we found that the previous weekend, she suddenly had a great desire to go to church. So, she came. And, while we were there with her, she gained a great desire to go to the temple. Next lesson, we will be inviting her to think and pray about a date to go to the temple to participate in Proxy baptisms for those that have passed on. In preparation for the temple, we will be re-teaching her all the lessons and re-committing her to all the commandments. It has been so neat to work with the newer and less active members of the church. You can see the change the gospel is making within them. It is humbling! 

As far as other highlights, I found myself back at the walk-in clinic with a new throat infection! Yay! haha... this time around I got some stronger antibiotics that should knock it out! We also made quite a few trips to the auto shop this week as we had to have them check and eventually replace our car battery so it would keep dying on us.. So, that was fun! :) All the leaves are starting to basically fall off the trees... Fall is coming to a close and winter is well on it's way. Time to start bundling up! 

Well, I am sorry but that is all the time that I have for today! Thank you for your emails! I really love your thoughts and stories from the week previous! It makes my week being able to hear from all of you! I love you and look forward to your emails next week. Have a good one! Lots of love! :) 

Sister Robison

59 River Rd #23 

Welland, ON L3B 2R7

PONDERIZE: 2 Nephi 16:8 (It is my new favorite!) 

PS, David Day, the LeRoy family says hello! (You were in their top 3 of fav missionaries). 

PPS, HAPPY HALLOWEEN and day light savings! The only time you get to sleep in as a missionary!

We got front row seats to a passing train!

We made cookies with oreo's in them!

The Beautiful Leaves of Fall!