Email Letter dated October 24, 2012 "Halloween"

October 24, 2012

Dear Family,
I know it is after 6 but we were assigned to do this survey online and Elder Escobar is still doing it so I have a couple more minutes. This has been a good week with a lot of walking and knocking doors. We have found a lot of catholics and evengelicals and a few jehovahs witnesses and a seventh day adventist that really wanted to teach us a thing or two about the gospel and few people that want to listen to us.....

We have very few investigators right now and even fewer progressing. really just one- Chana and she is a shining star that is definitely getting baptized next month.

It seems that it is a world wide standard that Christmas stuff hits the shelves in stores at the beginning of October and the Christmas lights go up before halloween. I´m not complaining because I love it and hope that every house in the DR has Christmas lights and a Christmas tree. I haven´t heard any Christmas songs yet but I´m sure they are on their way. you are probably saying ´well missionaries don´t listen to the radio so of course he hasn´t heard Christmas music.´ But the people here find it necessary to listen to their music and the radio loud enough for the whole city to hear so we hear a lot of music all the time. 

They do appear to celebrate halloween here in what way I don´t know but they recognize the holiday and the day. I highly doubt little kiddies dress up and go house to house asking for candy seeing as how there are constantly people telling us how dangerous it is in the street, especially at night. don´t worry at no point in my mission have I felt in danger and the Dominicans are a generally paranoid and superstitious people. I assume they use Halloween as an excuse not to go to work and throw parties and like every where else in the world drink.....We shall see what halloween looks like in the DR in a week.

I hope everyone is okay and staying afloat with work and school. It sounds like everyone is extremely busy and working hard. hey Dad it´s exciting that you´ll be in Florida soon. you´ll be a lot closer to me! :)     hopefully the trade show goes well and you are still enjoying your new job and you are settling in. 

Taft, I´m super excited for you and all the things you are doing and will be doing in your life in the coming months. The mission is a big deal and i don´t think anyone is really truly ready but you can do a lot to prepare. Like you said, read the scriptures and study them with the mission in mind. you have a great advantage having grown up with the church as a integral part of your life and i am thankful for that every day as I teach and testify. Preach my gospel is the manual of the missionaries and being familiar with it will benefit you greatly. Keep up the hard work and know that I am praying for you and the rest of the family.

I´m still waiting for an explanation of what exactly dad´s new job is and what he is doing in the water park company....

Life is good and spanish is coming everyday.

Elder Robinson

Email letter dated October 17, 2012 "Contacting"

 October 17, 2012

Dear Family,

This last week has been full of contacting. We´ve had a couple days when all we´ve done is contact and it´s been good. We have met several people we are really hoping will read, pray and progress. I feel I have become more confident in contacting and in speaking the language. as far as the language is concerned, it really helps to look back to where I´ve been and see how much progress I have made in just 8 months. I still don´t understand a lot but I feel I can basically say what I need to say and understand nearly everything with a little help. 

I´ve done so well budgetting lately that I treated myself to chinese food today at lunch. kinda expensive but it was sooooo good. sesame chicken yum.

hey is the blog still going? I know everyone is crazy busy and there may or may not be time to keep it updated.....

so exciting about Devin and Andrew! can´t wait to see pictures.

We have one progressing investigator right now and she is 12. her sister is a recent convert of about 5 months. She always reads always prays nearly always comes to church, and has a testimony that is slowly growing. She has a baptismal date for the 10 of november! Her name is Chana, well I think that is a nickname, I´m not sure what her real name is......I think I´ve only heard it once....

I am happy although the work is slow gonig right now due to the fact that we have a lot of new people we just contacted and several people who have stopped progressing for various reasons....trying to figure out the best way to get people animated about coming to church and acting in general. 

I think this Christmas is going to be difficult, I have felt a little homesick as I´ve seen decorations and christmas stuff appearing in stores. This is my first one away from home, away from family, and away from snow......The best remedy for homesickness is work so I´m gong to work hard.

I read the miracle of forgiveness a little while ago and everyone in the world needs to read that book! I want to read Jesus the Christ too the only trouble is finding the time to squeeze that in with everything else I´m doing and studying.

My old companion Elder Jensen did indeed finish the mission and he lives in Rexburg and I gave him a package to deliver to Nikelle which has a memory card with nearly all the pictures from my mission on it so she will be making a trip to Utah to deliver that soon after the package is delivered by jeremy (elder Jensen it´s weird to refer to him by his first name).

The work goes forth like a stone cut out of a hill and will continue to do so until the coming of Christ.

Elder Robinson

cool stats- there are approximately 7,000,000,000 people in the world 55,000 of which are missionaries. thats 0.0000079% of the worlds population. we are very few in number and the opportunity to be a missionary is incredible and something that many people do not have the opportunity to do. Also in the history of the world there have been 1,400,000 missionaries in the history of the world. Cool stats.

Email letter dated October 10, 2012 "New Transfer"

October 10, 2012

Dear Family,

sorry I didnt write last week I really did try. the churches email site crashed and I tried for 45 minutes trying to make it work changing computers, using every web browser known to man, and ultimately waiting watching the spinning ball of death that bore no fruit....

But I am still alive and am doing well. The transfer has ended and tomorrow Elder Yepez, Jensen, Sweeney, kimball, Burr, and a hand full of others are going home as they have finished the work the Lord called them to do. My new companion is Elder Escobar, he is from Honduras and is actually Elder Yepez's kid (elder Yepez trained him). Im not sure what the deal is with these father son combos Im getting as companions- I had elder Ferreras then his dad Elder Jensen, I had Elder Yepez and now I have his kid as my comp Elder Escobar. Elder Escobar has the exact same amount of time in the mission as I do. he has one more transfer in the field because he was only in the mtc for 3 weeks and I was in the mtc for 9.

Conference was good. We had the opportunity to watch it all in english which I was very thankful for. I think I would have been able to understand it in spanish but its just not as easy to concentrate and definitely not as easy to take notes. So many good things this conference! Elder Holland was so powerful. I also loved the Elder from the 70 that talked about the plan of salvation and related his feelings about his little son who passed away due to an accident with a piece of chalk becoming lodged in his throat. He was very passionate and it was a very strong talk. We are so blessed to see and here the messages of the prophets of God.

the picture is of Me Elder Yepez and Dionis whom Elder Yepez baptized on September 29.

I have learned a lot from this last transfer and I hope I am able to improve everything I do as a missionary. I have learned the importance of winning the confidence and trust of investigators and members and it is something that I really need to work on. I dont think I am really a people person......

Its exciting to hear about all the good things you are all doing. So glad Nikelle could be there for conference. I figure if I cant be with  her the next best thing is her hanging out with my family.

Noah keep it up bud. So glad you found something you love.

Dad I am glad your trip went well and that you are having success at your new job.

Love to hear about the garden.

Claire and taft great job at Shakespeare! 

Mom thank you for everything.

We are going to continue working her in Las Antillas and build the kingdom of God on earth.

Elder Robinson

Email letter dated September 28, 2012 "Rody"

 September 26, 2012

Dear Family,

On Thursday i fasted to know if we should baptize Rody. i was very specific: I want to baptize him and he has the desire to be baptized but i will accept thy will for Him and for Me. These are our desires, please help me to know if they are correct.

After prayer and fasting I feel that it is not Rody´s time to be baptized as everything currently stands. President Douglas is really stressing Building the kingdom in the mission and I don´t feel that baptizing him at this time would be contributing to that cause. There are too many factors and too high a risk that he´ll just be another inactive member of the church. He has the great desire to be baptized and he can technically pass the baptismal interview but I cannot deny what I feel and it is that this is not the right thing to do right now. So for now he will not be baptized. i think we will try talking to his mom and see if we can´t help bring the spirit to soften her heart, if she were to be baptized with him and show real conviction and strength then I would feel a lot better. But as it stands now, it is not happening.

This morning for a zone activity we played baseball. Alright it was softball but still. And I gotta admit. I was so dang proud of myself! I didn´t strike out, not even once, I got on base almost every time I was up to bat, I played second base and didn´t totally womp! I haven´t played baseball since I was like 10 and turns out its kinda like riding a bike. you don´t forget. Man I was so stoked. I also got very sunburned. I thought about putting on sunscreen before leaving the house but decided not to. A decision i regret.....I wore my tilley hat but we played early in the morning so the sun was level with my face and my arms, calves, face and neck are very red....It was tons of fun but wearing tall socks and black slacks is just not quite as much fun when your calves are burned......

Conference is coming!!!!!!!

We are really trying hard to find new people to teach because a lot of the people we´ve been teaching are just not progressing, lost interest or have straight up told us not to come back....I have been praying and studying how to motivate these people and to reawaken them to the spirit they had when they first started sharing with the missionaries and started gaining testimonies.

i´m so glad everyone is getting my letters! i love mail it is so fun to receive mail. 

Brigham City temple done! How many temples is that in utah now? 12? 13? I kinda feel like a jerk when I say I´m from Utah and that the temple is within walking distance and that there are tons of temples there and I´ve visited like 6 of them....I am so blessed to come from such a place as that. i miss the temple. I went twice a week after I was endowed until I left for the mission. It´s been about 5 months since I´ve been to the temple and it´s likely I won´t see the Santo Domingo temple again until the return trips I make later in life....

Well we have an activity with Elder Cornish here in a little while and we gotta go do some other things. I love you all and am excited every Wednesday to hear from you. God is good and will provide for our needs. he does work miracles in our lives. He inspires us to know what to do and what to say. All we need to do is ask.

Elder Robinson