Wednesday, May 28, 2014

May 26th, 2014

Hi guys,

Well here we are again, another Monday has arrived and we are writing emails. Super crazy isn't it? It literally felt like we just barely did this about 4 days ago. This week flew by super fast I don't know
where it went. We had a super good week really applying the mission standard into our area and letting the Lord work through us to find those prepared.

Hey FYI I did get the package from you with the Ensign and Liahona. However when I receive it, it was already opened and there was no flash drive in it. I think it might have got lost in the shipping
process. I checked our zone leaders car and the office and there was no flash drive. Thank you for the magazines! Don't worry to much about the flash drive, you can send it with the next package.

Sounds like everything went well with you talk in Church. Such a great topic; Elder Ballard has really given some great talks about missionary work, and the blessings that come from Missionary Work. I
hope you shared some good experiences about me and nothing to crazy ;)

Well this is going to be a short email because I don't have a lot of time. This week we had a really good week. We did a better job talking with everyone, and we found 3 new investigators. Two of them, Manuel
and Nate, are super bomb and super prepared. Manuel es de Quayaquil Ecuador (Maybe Dad first contacted him in his mission....), and his son Nate was born here in the US. Both of them have been going through some super hard times and really want a greater peace in their life. So we shared John 14:27 and promised that peace. Later when we visit them again Manuel actually asked us for a copy of the Book of Mormon because he remembered the missionaries in Ecuador talking about it. So we taught the Restoration and committed him to read. We are super excited for him and Nate and will be working really hard to help them find that peace in their life.

So ya that was pretty much the highlight of the week. We worked super hard and in turn had a very successful week. We are really starting to see the blessings that come from following the counsel of our Mission President, and it really is strengthening my testimony that God does inspire His chosen servants. I am grateful for President Tew and for his great service as Mission President.

Well I need to end here. Sorry for the short email this week. All the libraries are closed so we are on a tight schedule at the family history center. Thank you for all you do and for you love. Hope you have a good week and we will talk to ya next week.

Love,

Elder Roberts

Monday, May 19, 2014

May 19, 2014


Buenos Dias,
Man I cannot believe it is P-day already. It literally felt like I was
here only a couple days ago emailing you guys. This week passed by so
fast looking back on it now. During the week it didn't feel so, but it
really did fly by. I think it felt like if went by slow because it was
super hot. We hit temperatures in the low 100's for 3 straight days
and it was super hard. But we endured through and now the week is
over.

Sounds like you guys did have a super crazy weekend. I agree with mom
it is awesome to see how smooth the transition is between church
leaders. It was super cool reading how it all works in dad's email, it
definitely is a revelatory experience and amazing to see how the Lord
directs His church. I am with mom, I really don't know President Price
or President Diderickson. But I am super excited for President Godderidge, he is an awesome leader and will do a lot of great things a
the first counselor.

Thanks for the updates for track. Kyler told me that Tyson beat my 800
record. Sounds like it was super competitive this year which is
awesome. I don't have Tyson's email address so you will have to send
him a congrats through my facebook or something. Thanks for sending
that stuff so fast, I wasn't expecting it to soon, but thanks :) To
answer your question my companion and I don't have a car, but if I do
get to use a car soon I will have the thumb drive to listen to music
and talks as well. It is just weird that we can use thumb drives but
not iPods.... Quien sabe.

So this week like I said was just super hot and was very hard to stay
focused on the work. It started off a little slow, but like always it
picked up after Thursday. A theme we have as a zone this transfer it
talking with everyone that the Lord puts into our path. The past few
district meetings and zone meetings have been about this. To be honest
this has been one of my biggest weaknesses on the mission. But slowly
I have been getting better. I have been studying Chapter 9 of Preach
my Gospel pretty thoroughly and it has helped my increase my faith
that God is preparing His children to receive the Restored Gospel.
I did exchanges with our District Leader Elder Gonzalez on Saturday
and we made it a goal to focus on contacting during our exchange. It
started off with a super good personal study in the morning in Preach
my Gospel and the Scriptures. Two scriptures stuck out to me: D&C
24:12 and D&C 60:2,7. Both really just opened my eyes that it is a
commandment that as missionaries we need to talk to EVERYONE, and how
God will give us the strength, courage, and words to share with His
children. After that we went out and started working, passing by a few
potentials and members. Well in just 2 hours we talked with 11 people!
By the end of the exchange we had talked with 15 people that day. It
really increased my faith that there are people waiting to receive the
Gospel and how they are truly searching for the truth, and that is why
I am here: To bring the Restored Gospel to those searching for the
truth.

I know that this is God's work in the Earth. I am so grateful for His
guidance in this work and the help I receive every day. I am so
grateful that He is helping me overcome my weaknesses and I strive to
improve and do my part to improve as well. I know that it would be
very difficult to make such changes without His help and the help of
my leaders. I am so grateful for Elder Gonzalez and his love, and
desire, to help others improve.
Thank you for everything you do for me. Hope you all have a good weekend!
Love,
Elder Roberts


P.S
I was going to put this into my other email, but forgot.
While on Exchanges Elder Gonzalez and I contacted a family doing some
yard work, so we stopped to offer help and ask for some water. Later
we saw that they had a giant turtle just wandering their yard. So we
got a couple pictures with it.






I was going through my pictures and found a few more that people
might enjoy.

Picture 1.
This is what happens when you get 8 missionaries together after our
missionary correlation meeting. We stuff ourselves into a 2013 Toyota
Corolla



Picture 2.
Ya that's right we contacted a Pirate :)


Tuesday, May 13, 2014

May 12, 2014

Hi everyone,

I won't lie it is kinda hard to know what to write about after we call
home. I had the same problem when I called home for Christmas, the
following p-day I had no idea what to say. But I will try to mumble
off a few paragraphs. Forgive me if I just start rambling with no
purpose.

Well this week was kinda full of ups and downs. The week started a
little slow, and I know why which I will explain later, but after a
super bomb zone meeting and weekly planning session Thursday, things
just took off. Overall we found 3 new investigators and found several
of our less-actives in our area. It was a super good week, and I
really learned a lot about myself and this great work in which I am so
grateful to be apart of. The biggest fundamental of the Gospel that I
learned this week was Obedience brings Blessings (D&C 130 20-21).

So to start this week I was having some pain in my shins due to
breaking in new shoes. So I decided I would just take a week off from
running and exercise in the apartment doing body weight exercises.
Well Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning came and I stayed in bed
for an extra 30 minutes after the alarm went off. I did not get up to
exercise and I was just groggy, and tired for the entire day. Even
worse I was disobeying mission rules, constantly thinking about how
tired I was, and was not entirely focused on the work. Due to this I
know we weren't working as effective as we could have and I felt super
guilty.

Well like I said, after our zone meeting and weekly planning session
Thursday things just turned around. We made some specific goals to
work as hard as we could, and to be exactly obedient to every rule
including exercising in the morning. As we started to act on our goals
the Lord truly did guide us in the work. It was then when we found 3
new investigators, found several other people interested in the
Gospel, and overall I felt much better. I felt like I was more guided
in our planing, in what to say to the people we contacted, and more
happy.

I know that obedience and sacrifice brings the blessings of heaven.
Sometimes we might not understand exactly why we need to be obedient
to the smallest rules. But I know that is how we exercise our faith in
our Heavenly Father, put our trust in Him and our Savior Jesus Christ,
and push forward with faith in this life. I know that God will bless
us for our obedience, He will give us the strength to be obedient, and
help us understand the "whys" of His commandments. I am grateful for
all the blessings our Heavenly Father has blessed me with, and for the
experiences and trials He has given me.

Well I am going to end here. Thank you all for your love, support, and
prayers. I know the Lord is blessing you; keep seeking Him by being
obedient to His commandments as given through His prophets. His Gospel
has been Restored! I know it, I live it, I love it.

Love you all,

Elder Roberts

Monday, May 5, 2014

May 5, 2014

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the all caps email. Just wanted to make sure you all know what is happening. We found out last Sunday that we could use Skype. My companion and I will be at a member's house using their iPads to skype home. Should be fun and exciting. I agree with mom it really doesn't feel that long ago that I called home for Christmas. Haha Elder Lloyd brought up the point that the next time I call home for Mother's day I will only have a week left in the mission. CRAZY!!!! But still alot of time till that moment.

So as far as what happens with transfers, nothing happened with our companionship. Elder Lloyd and I will be staying together for another 6 weeks in the same area here in Cerritos. We are pretty excited to be together again and can't wait to just hit the pavement running. We have several good goals planned out for this transfer and we can't wait to put them into action.

Some sad news though Elder Lund will not be our District leader. He got upgraded to a zone leader and moved zones. We are pretty sad to see him go, but excited for the missionaries he will influence in his new zone. So far he has been my favorite District leader and I learned alot from him. Basically take the comments he gave about me, times them by 50 and you have Elder Lund. He is such a good Elder and I learned alot from him. He really does know how to follow the Spirit in all situations, and do things the way the Savior would do. I am going to miss him for sure.

This week was all right. Super hot though. On Tuesday and Wednesday I got burnt more than a burnt cookie. I eventually broke down and broke out the sunscreen so it wouldn't get any worse. I think the heat kinda spilled over into my attitude about the work this week. We had such a hard time finding people to teach, finding our our investigators, and we had to help the mission prepare an apartment for some sisters to move into this friday. So we had alot of distractions this week and we didn't have the greatest week.

So ya that was pretty much our week. Like I said earlier we are excited that we will be working together for another transfer and are super ready to work hard. Slowly but surely I am learning how to trust in our Heavenly Father to do His work in the way that will be effective and powerful. I know He does help us everyday, and I am really going to be striving to seek His help every day. I know this is a powerful work that is happening in the world right now. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be His missionary and bring the world the truth.

Love you all and see you all on Sunday.

Elder Roberts

Friday, May 2, 2014

April 28, 2014

Hi Everyone

This past week was awesome, and just amazing! Super hard, but just finished with indescribable joy. I honestly felt like Alma the younger when we and the son's of Mosiah met together, just full of joy and happiness. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary for our Savior Jesus Christ and for this time I have to help His work reach all the people here in California.

So if you saw the pictures you might have an idea what I am talking about. Yes, to answer mom's question: La Familia Berriel se bautizo ayer!! It such an amazing day, and just spiritually filled. I am grateful to our mission president to have made the rule that we could return to old areas to see investigators we taught get baptized. I was so excited to just be at the baptismal service. But, as you can see in the photos, I am dressed in all white. Yep Julia, the mom, asked me to baptize her and I was very grateful for the opportunity to do so. They are just an amazing family, and to see them take this step of faith was just incredible. What was also amazing was the support of the ward. I kid you not, over half of the ward showed up to the baptismal service for this family. La familia Berriel are in good hands, and an amazing ward to support them. I know that our Heavenly Father has a plan for them, and He is already making plans for them to enter the temple one year from now. Thank you for the prayers on their behalf, I know that the Lord answered you prayers and I am so grateful to you all for you support for this family. Thank you!

So that was by far the highlight of this week. Other than that it was a good week. On Saturday, we got to change out our proselyting clothes for service clothes, as well as wear the famous "Mormon Helping Hands" vest. The city of Lakewood, which is covered by our zone, did an all city service project that we were able to take part of. The missionaries and members from our ward helped an older lady by painting her window and door frames. That was a lot of fun,it was a great time to get to know the missionaries and the ward members while providing some very solid service. 

Other than that nothing too crazy happened during the week. The work is a little slow in our area right now, and we are just struggling trying to find new people to teach. But after the baptism on Sunday, my energy levels just got filled to the max and I am just super pumped for this week. Also because this is the last week of the transfer. We had to have a 5 week transfer to make up for the 7 week transfer we had in January. I don't know why they did it that way, but it is the same amount of time to work in the Savior's vineyard. So I really want to end this transfer on a high note. Should be a good week, I am super excited.

As far as calling for Mother's day, I have no idea if we will be using Skype or just a regular phone  call home. I still have the address for Skype so don't worry too much about it. I will let you know soon what we will be doing.

So ya that should wrap things up here in Cerritos. Thank you all for your support and love. Time is passing by fast, but just means I need to be working just as fast and just as hard. I know this is the Lord's work here on the earth, and I know that He is guiding us everyday. 

Love you all,

Elder Roberts




P.S. Thank you all for the gifts, they all will come in handy.