Week 78 - Merry Christmas!

[Tyler didn't write a normal letter home this week as he got to call home via Skype. He did, however send some pictures (plus a few screen caps we took during the call).]

[Despite being in a remote part of the D.R., Tyler was able to find a place to skype home on Christmas.]

[We were able to 3-way Skype to include Matt & Michaella who were up in Utah for Christmas. So, we had our whole family on the call.]

[Tyler got his Christmas Package a week before Christmas, thankfully. Here, he's showing one of his gifts, a watch from his Grandma Robertson.]

This was our Christmas Eve dinner! It has spaghetti, Salad, potato salad, chicken, bread, and fritos de platanos! It was super good!! We ate at the second counselors house!

At our Mission Christmas Party with president Smith.

It is custom to burn pants at 18 months. I found an old pair in the house and burned them.

It is custom to burn pants at 18 months. I found an old pair in the house and burned them.

This is our house from the outside!!

This is the zone, the sisters were in charge of the shirt and the dab became an inside joke. 

Week 77 - My strengths and weaknesses

This week was awesome!! First and foremost Yonathan got baptized! He was a kid we randomly found walking in the street and he called us over. We started talking to him and realized he had met with missionaries before and they had stopped going by but he still knew the truthfulness of the church. We started teaching him and he said he wanted to be baptized as soon as he could. Talk about a miracle! He is super awesome and I can't wait to watch his growth in the church.

Transfers came and I am staying here in Sabana Grande de Boya as the Zone Leader up here. Elder Bigler is leaving and I am going to train a new Zone Leader (like it is his first transfer as zone leader not in the mission.) His name is Elder Matos. I don't really know him that well but he is Dominican so this will be super fun!

I feel super weird! It doesn't quite feel like Christmas to me. Last year did but this year kind of snuck up on me. It was super fun to see all the pictures of Utah and all the lights up there!

We have a ton of awesome plans here in the zone for the next week and the upcoming month! I am super pumped for this next transfer!!

Alright I don't really like this weeks question but the questions from Dad this week are:

"What have you discovered to be one of your greatest strengths as a missionary?"

I don't really know how to answer this because I feel like I have so much to work on. I am so far from perfect. To answer this question better I just asked me companion and he says that I am good at teaching people. Like all people and addapting my teaching to the needs of others. Something I feel the Lord has blessed me with a lot is the gift of discernment. I feel like if I am in tune with the spirit, I have been able to receive many impressions about the needs of other people so that has been kind of neat.

"What have you discovered to be one of your greatest weaknesses as a missionary?"

Aright this one is a lot easier to answer. I have many. The more and more I study the life of the Savior the more and more I realize how much I need to work on and how grateful I am that the Lord works with imperfect people. I would say right now my biggest weakness is staying patient with people when things fall short. I have learned a lot about patience from being a leader and a missionary. There is a big habit that I am sure is all over the world when people commit to come to church and you have so much faith that they will, and then they don't show up. Or when you make plans as a zone or companionship and everyone agrees to follow through, and then they don't. Sometimes it can be frustrating especially when it happens over and over again. But the most important thing is to love. The Savior I am sure had many opportunities to lose his patience but always chose to love. It is something I still have to work on at times. I have the perfect example from the scriptures and I am studying a lot.

Okay I am SO sorry but we still haven't figured out EXACTLY what we are going to do for skype. I will probably ask permission to jump on sometime this week and just let yall know if not I will send an email super early on Monday. The problem is we are way out in the middle of nowhere and the only place that we could possibly skype would be in the church. There is only one computer and 6 missionaries. My guess is that it will be sometime in the afternoon like at 2ish my time but if that is going to change I will let yall know!

I got super excited reading those game reports! I am sure that BYU vs Utah game was suuuper awesome! I love BYU sports and love them even more when we win! And That is awesome that Lake Travis is going to State again! I am PUMPED to hear what happens next week!!

I love yall! I hope everyone has an amazing week leading up to Christmas!!

Love,

Elder Robertson

My Zone

Yonathan's baptism

Week 76 - Lots of Traveling

The past couple weeks have been a little difficult just because we have had so many meetings in the capital. It isn't that bad it just gets tiring with so much traveling.

I can't believe it is already almost half way through December. I remember starting this year out and thinking it would never end but it just FLEW by! I LOVE Christmas time! Here it is a little different but it is still awesome because the whole Country celebrates Christmas! I am super pumped that yall are still adding to the house. I love those light things that people put on their houses I think they look so cool! People here decorate their houses too but just with a few light strands and I definitely miss the crazy houses in the States, I think I am going to be a dad that just goes nuts on his house.

We had interviews this week and I love them! Every time I get out of an interview I can tell that President is a man called of God. He truly has a desire for the best of each and every one of us missionaries. Him and his wife both radiate love for all of us. We talked about a lot of things but mainly about how we need to really focus on teaching repentance and helping people know what it means. That was something that President emphazised when he came to the mission. For someone really to become converted, we need to teach repentance in a way that they seek to have that change and actually work towards it.

Other than that this week was pretty basic. We have been dropping and finding a lot of people to try and find the people who are prepared to hear the message.

I will let yall know  when the package comes. Yall are the best! I feel super priviledged to have parents like yall. I would have been fine with a few cards haha.

Alright Question of the week from dad:

"It seems that you, right away, embraced missionary work and gave your whole heart and soul to it. How were you able to do this?"

I actually don't think this is entirely true. The more and more time I have here on my mission the more I realize that the mission isn't two years to share the gospel, it is two years of learning what life is. I don't think I embraced missionary work right away, I think I waited 19 years to truly start sharing the gospel and that is something I will always regret. I had my first experiences of sharing the restored truths to the children of God here on the mission and the joy that comes from that is immense. It only increases the desire to share it. It isn't something that one should wait until they decide to serve a mission because the joy can start whenever one chooses to share. I wish I would have realized this concept before my mission because I know there are many lost opportunities from the 19 years before my mission. I love this gospel and one way to truly show how much you love it is your desire to share it. I am sad I didn't have as big of a desire until I got here in the mission field but once you truly learn about the blessings, the desire to learn and grow and share will increase exponentioally.

I love y'all a ton! I hope everyone is doing the Light the World!! We can't do all of them here but we are trying where we can!

Make this week awesome!!!

Love,

Elder Robertson

Week 75 - The hardest part of a mission

Okay so I am writing at a different place and can send a few pictures so I am going to send some pictures that I have already talked about.

I am not really sure where to start. I can't believe it is December. This year has FLOWN! I still remember saying goodbye to everyone in the airport and I feel like only a few weeks have gone by. But today I saw a sister that was in my group in the MTC and went to the other mission and she was buying some things to go home because she goes home in two weeks. That blew my mind. That is so weird to me that all of the people my age are starting to come home from their missions! But I'm not that worried about it because I still got six months and I plan on using every second of it.

I have a little bit more time to talk about my area. So I live out in a place called Sabana Grande de Boya. It is really far away from everything. The town isn't that bad and most of the roads are actually paved. The people are nice and humble but they really need the gospel here. The church has only been here for about 20 years. It is fairly new and looks like it. The branch isn't super strong. There are a lot of great members but it definitely lacks leadership. There is a lot of potential here. I am assigned to one third of the ward boundries because there are six missionaries here. It is super interesting to see because there are a lot of people who have never even heard of the church. I am up further in the mountains so it normally isn't as hot. I would say in the low 80s most of the time which is nice. My companion is Elder Bigler from Gilbert, Arizona. He is awesome and is a super hard worker. The area is definitely more humble but I kind of like it better because the people are naturally more humble. I have enjoyed it and am looking forward to the time I have to spend here.

I am not exactly sure where I am going to Skype on Christmas but I will find a place. If nothing else I can do it in the church like I did last year. The power doesn't go out a whole ton in the afternoon here so I don't think that will be a problem. I will keep y'all updated but I am pretty sure I can skype whenever yall want because Christmas is on pday this year which is kind of cool.

I have a lot of questions to go but I guess I can at least answer number 2 today.

2. What has been the hardest part of serving a mission so far?

This is a very hard question to answer because even though I absolutely love my mission, it is definitely the hardest thing I have ever done. I could obviously say that it is the constant heat or the uncomfortable conditions but if I am being honest, the actual hardest part of my mission, I would have to say that is learning to love the people here and knowing with no doubt that this gospel can help their lives more than anything and in the end them not accepting it. Some of the most heart crushing moments I have had in my life have been when that has happened. The hardest reason behind it is because you don't exaclty know why. Of course everyone has their agency and can do what they choose but most of the time you wonder if you could have done something better. Because you know it is true, you know it can help, but they still don't accept it and it is heart breaking. It is for that reason I always have to strive to be the best missionary I can. Because those moments are the worst.

I am happy to hear that BYU basketball is doing well! I hope they figure everything out and just go crazy next year! I am sad to hear about Ty. I hope he stays on the coaching staff.

I hope everyone is paying attention to the Light the World campain! There are so many awesome things to do every day! If you haven't watched any of the videos yet, GO WATCH DAY 19!!!! It is soo awesome!!!

I love yall a ton! I miss everyone so much! But keep doing awesome stuff and share the true spirit of Christmas!!

Love,

Elder Robertson

This clean water filling station is in my area right now. You can see it at the beginning of the Day 2 of the #LightTheWorld videos: https://www.mormon.org/christmas/25-ways-25-days/day-2

This is a shot of my area right now. Lots of trees

Today we went to fuddruckers and that was awesome! 

This was a cool place right next to fuddrckers

This is a giant Christmas tree we found

This was what we did as a zone on Thanksgiving!

This was what we did as a zone on Thanksgiving!

Week 74 - Thanksgiving

Okay so I have spent the past 40 minutes trying to log into my email. It appears that the church is changing a few things with some of the things in the church. One of them is they just had maintenance on the email and online stuff and it appears that now there are a few problems. I have to log on about 50 times and then it would just take me right to the same login page. But here I am and I don't have a ton of time so this will be short.

This week was intense! Thanksgiving was alright. We got together as a zone and because many of us were american we decided to have a thanksgiving dinner. We had everyone bring their own stuff and it actually turned out pretty well. These computers aren't letting me upload pictures but I will try and send pictures as soon as I can. But the problem was we had a few other people from other countries so we also had rice and hot sauce there which was a little weird but it still turned out alright.

Every day this week we went to a different zone as a mission and did what we call a cosecha. We just had a ton of people working in one area. I think I have mentioned it before. It was amazing and we saw a ton of miracles but the best part was how we got over 50 people ther in two cars and neither of them were like a school bus or anything like that. It was incredible and I will send pictures when I can. We fit 20 people in a 12 seater van.

This upcoming week is going to be amazing. We are going to have the area president come and basically run the mission for a few days. It starts on wednesday with a meeting of all the zone leaders and he will be leading it so I am super pumped to see what happens.

I am sorry I can't answer another question this week because I don't have time but I realized what I was trying to say last week. I love being a representative of Christ because I have never tried so hard to live as he lived and apply his attributes to my life. It literally is life changing.

Cabo looked so much fun and I am super jealous! I love yall a ton! I got the package and it is perfect! Oh quick thing, the church and the mission changed the way they charge us for the packages and now it is a lot more difficult and we have to pay for the package upfront. I have heard from many missionaries about something called DHL. I think it is another company but I don't know much about it. Could one of yall look into it and let me know really what it is and we can decide if it is a better option? But the package was PERFECT as always!

I love yall and miss yall so much! That is INSANE that Emma is already home. Cassie goes home this week and I am just freaking out that people are starting to go home! Time goes by too fast!!!

Have an amazing week!!

Elder Robertson

Week 73 - The greatest part of serving a mission

Yep, I am glad it seems that everything is cooling down there in the states. Here it is still hot and humid and the temperature isn't changing all that much. It is kind of weird because it makes the seasons seems a lot shorter just because there is no way to judge it by the weather. One day it is September and then BOOM almost the end of November.

This week was back to normal! Just a lot of good ole fashion missionary work. We had a lot of contacts. We decided together as a companionship that most of the investigators we had weren't progressing so we decided to drop most of them and start over. It has been hard but we have been finding a ton of people! I am super excited to start to work with all of them in the upcoming week.

One awesome thing that happened this week was the baptism of Yendri! He was an investigator who was actually in the area of the Sisters. But they were having a lot of problems with him like finding and teaching him and helping him get baptized so we decided to help out! We ended up teaching him a lot and preparing him for baptism and he asked me to baptize him which was super special for me! He is a super awesome kid and because of some crazy scheduling for his dad we ended up having to do the baptism before church at 8 in the morning! It was crazy but kind of cool because he got confirmed literally 20 minutes after he got baptized. He is a great kid who I think is going to help the church in Sabana a lot.

Okay so dad asked me a list of questions and I don't have time to answer them all but I think over the next few weeks I am going to take one or two and try and answer them. I will just start at the top and work my way down.

What has been the greatest part of serving a mission so far?

That is a super hard question to answer. There have been SO many great parts. I have loved learning a new language, I have loved working a long side with other great missionaries and people, I have loved serving the people here with all of my heart, might, mind and strength. I don't know if I can fully say the one thing that has been my favorite part about serving a mission but I can definitely talk about one of them. I would say one of my favorite parts is having the insanely huge privilege of, probably a once in a lifetime privilege, of bearing the title and being a literal representative of Jesus Christ. There are so many things that a missionary can do just because of that title. Now in no way do I want to try and compare myself to Him because that would be apostacy and impossible, but I think the experience has helped me in a few ways. One is that I have been able to understand the Atonement in a way that I never have before. I can't share everything I have learned obviously because there is a lot. But because I bear His name I have tried to understand His life. I have studied the Atonement and felt like I have received much personal revelation about overcoming weaknesses and improving through that great sacrifice. One of the other things that I love about it, is through the guidance of the Spirit, and in the right settings, I can make a promise in the name of Jesus Christ. It is so much more powerful than just a normal promise. An investigator can feel such a greater assurance that the blessings of keeping a commandment will come to pass with a sure promise in the name of Jesus Christ. It isn't the easiest thing to explain but it definitely has been one of the greatest things on the mission which I think is that feeling you feel leave you after your mission which I am really not looking forward to.

Okay I think there is only time for one right now but we are about to head back to our area. I love yall! I am super jealous about the trip to Mexico again! But I am super happy that yall are having so much fun!!

I will try and send pictures when I get back because I don't have a way to connect my camera right now!

Have an amazing week and and amazing Thanksgiving! Eat lots of turkey for me!!!

Love,

Elder Robertson

Week 72 - A/C and Hot Showers

OHHKayyyy there was a LOT that happened this week. All of the interesting stories will probably be after this long next paragraph.

I LOVE my new area. I have learned that it is more enjoyable to work out in areas like this for a few reasons. One is because during the afternoon it is too hot to be in their houses so EVERYONE is just sitting outside so it is so easy to go talk to people. My companion Elder Bigler is awesome and has a huge desire to work so I think we will work well together. I forgot my camera so pictures will be coming next week.

But this past week has been quite a rollercoaster. The day of transfers we had a meeting with the Stake President so we couldn't go out to our area because it is so far away from the capitol so we had to stay in the MTC that night. It was so weird and we felt like we were staying in a hotel. We were with the other Zone Leader and his companion so it was the four of us. We ended up getting out of the meeting at about 9:30 (Presidnet Smith was with us and drove us home) and we didn't get to the MTC until about 10:15. We got to the room and there was air conditioning!!! That night was SO COLD! When I woke up in the morning we were FREEZING!! It was so awesome! But then the best part, the MTC has a water heater and I took like a 30 minute shower in SUPER HOT water!! It felt SOOO good! And then we finally got going and got back up to our area and the day was so HOT! It was a weird day because we are super high up and normally the sun isn't out. Which sure enough almost every other day was COLD. But only for the first half of the day because then you start sweating and because it is always raining it is super humid so you get HOT. But it's okay because an old missionary left his tiny air conditioning unit in the house which doesn't work very well but if you keep a fan on you you can actually wake up COLD. But then the worst part is because the sun is never out, the water is SUPER COLD!! AAAANNDD we don't have running water in this house so, it's back to bucket showers :). Man I am SO PUMPED for this transfer! I love the area a ton! There are a lot of animals here and yesterday we had a dog come to church and sit in sacrament meeting and no one really cared.

Okay but just for time and more important things I need to stop there and tell three stories. And all of them take place on the same day. But just to set the context, we had a visit from a few really special people in the DR and one is the area president Elder Civic, and in his talk he promised us that that day would be a day we would never forget, he was right.

So the big news and most important is that Elder Cook from the quorum of the 12 came to the DR. Unfortuantely he came to Santiago and it is too far to travel so we could only watch it via transmitioin but it was still awesome. I could talk about so many things that he said. But after he talked I had an overwhelming confirmation that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the only true and restored church on the Earth. It was such an overwhelming feeling and nothing could deny it. But he told us something insane. He talked a lot about the church in Kirtland and when Jesus visited it and accepted it. Then he talked about how we shouldn't always share our most spiritual experiences but he had recently decided to share some broad details especially to us missionaries, then he said, "I KNOW THE SAVIOR'S FACE AND I KNOW THE SAVIOR'S VOICE." We all freaked out. The way he said it was so intense and I could feel the spirit so strong in the room. He told us that almost always the church is led and directed by the Prophet under the direction of the Spirit, but in certain matters, like temples and missionary work, "He lets his will be known." How awesome is it to know that every type of manual or rule or anything that pertains to missionary work comes directly from the Lord! It was an experience I will never forget.

But then we left and as always happens when you have a spiritual experience, someone tries to ruin the feeling. As we were walking to the bus to go back home we were walking with four other missionaries. Two sisters and two elders. We were aproaching the bus and the two sisters get on and so does my companion. The other two elders stayed back to by a coke and they were a little bit behind us. As I was about to get on I saw a commotion happening behind the bus and it looked like a cop and a hatian were fighting! (Intelligently, I still hadn't gotten on the bus) All I saw was a cop with a gas mask coming with a shotgun and then another cop put on a mask and then I just saw a TON of pepper spray in the air. I wasn't in the direct like of fire because I was off to the side but that stuff HURTS! It got in my eyes and throat and I jumped onto the bus. The other two elders got hit worse because they were closer but basically I got pepper sprayed as a missionary.

The last story and this one is probably the shortest but the sisters were planning to have a baptism that night (I am in a branch with 6 missionaries) but the baptismal font hadn't been emptied out from the last baptism and it was NASTY! The water was high and filled with some green things and the water was all mucky. Us and the other two elders went to go see what we were going to do about it because the sisters had to go visit some people. The water was nasty and we couldn't get the plug up. It was a push plug but the problem is that it didn't come up high enough for the water to go down. In the end we decided that the only option was that someone was going to have to get in and go put something under the plug to hold it open. The lot fell on the other zone leader. But the problem is that the water would have ruined any type of clothes especially white clothes in they got in it. So we found the only things we could turn into a makeshift swim suit, a white plastic bag. So he stripped down and got into the font and the bag didn't really serve much and as he went down into the water the bag fell off. So that is the story of how an elder went skinny dipping in a baptismal font.  But we did get it cleaned out finally.

I love this country and I love this mission! I love all of yall!! HAve a great week!!

Love,

Elder Robertson

Week 71 - I'm Moving to the Boonies

Howdy Yall!!

I'm going to be a dad again! Well...a step dad. Transfers came and I am leaving Ralma. For the first real time in my mission I am going to a "campo" which is basically what we would call "out in the boonies." I am headed to the zone Almirante Campo to the area Sabana Grande de Boya. I am going to stay as a zone leader out there but I am also going to finish the training of an Elder named Elder Bigler. I talked a little bit with the other zone leader who is out there right now and he said the area is awesome and there are a lot of horses, pigs and cows. He says the hardest part is getting people to come to church just because it is so far away. He also told me that I am going to see the weirdest and craziest things on my mission out there. I AM PUMPED!!

I have been focusing a lot on the importance of the Spirit lately. I haven't forgotten what President told me in our first interview, that we had over 2000 converts in our mission last year and not one single ward has been created. And what Elder Andersen said when he came to our mission, that sometimes we can lead people to baptism too quickly before they fully understand what it is or have a testimony. It is actually a big controversy in our mission. A lot of people argue about when is the right time to baptize someone. Because there are people here who are willing to be baptized as soon as they possibly can. There was a girl in Valiente named Chandra, not sure if yall remember her. She got baptized in two weeks because her desire was so strong.

I don't have a set opinion on when the right time is but I do have a set opinion on what needs to happen first. And this isn't coming from me but it is coming from an Apostle. Before baptism one needs to feel the spirit through true repentance, and one needs to feel a spiritual confirmation that the Book of Mormon is true. Both of those things require the Spirit. So that is what I have been focusing on and I definitely have seen some interesting changed in my life. When I first got here I felt like I could just convince people that this is true and really try and do it my way which to quote Jacob in his sermon in 2 Nefi 9, "Mi sabiduría es locura, y de nada me sirve." This work is not mine, or any missionary's, this work is the Lord's and the only way to have success is by doing it His way.

And I have seen a change, even if the people still are being a little difficult, I have seen a change in me which is really the goal here. As I have said before, President is focusing a lot on consecration. I have a LONG way to go before I can say that I am fully consecrated, but as I have been trying, and taking the steps to get there. I have been seeing changes in my personal desires. I have been trying to seek the Lord's will more than mine and really try and do what he would have me do. And let me tell you, it is a way better way to do missionary work.

On Saturday Elder Cook is going to come to Santiago and visit the missionaries and we are going to watch it by broadcast so I am PUMPED to see what he has to say! More on that next week!

There aren't any super awesome stories from this past week. It is going to be interesting because I will probably be out in the campo for Christmas and the Christmas call but I am so excited to get to work out there.

I love yall! Have an amazing week!

Love,

Elder Robertson

Week 70 - FELIZ NAVIDAD!!

Another email coming at yall from down here in the DR. I have a Little bit more time today so I am going to explain a few things.

I have really been trying to focus on living in a way Jesus did. I have been coming to realize that I am in a one in a lifetime situation here on my mission, if nothing else just for the fact that I am a literal representative of Jesus Christ. There are very few callings in the church where this is the case and I feel honored to have that title for this time of my life. I was talking with the other zone leader this week and we felt impressed to focus more on that in the zone. The biggest thing is to have a work ethic like Jesus had. Where he was perfect in completing all of the requirements of his Father. He is the perfect example of perfect faith and enduring to the end. It doesn't matter what he faced or who he had going against him, he was perfect in completing what he had to complete. It is now my responsibility to apply that in my life and do everything in my power to live how He would live and do what He would do. I know there are so many people here waiting to hear this message and God will trust me with his children if I am doing what he needs me to do.

President Smith is an awesome mission president and is definitely inspired by the Lord. I have really enjoyed working with him over the past few months. It has been fun to see really how the Lord calls his servants and qualifies them for the exact work that he calls them to. A lot of people were really worried when President Corbitt went home and didn't really know how everything was going to go with the change in the mission president. I wont lie I was one of those people that was a little curious and we have definitely seen changes and reactions but I now have a firm testimony that President Smith is the man that the Lord has chosen in this time to lead our mission. President Smith has received a promise through revelation for the following months. In the month of November he has received the promise that every area will have at least one baptism. We have been focusing a lot on receiving promises and revelation for our own areas. It is awesome because instead of just putting a random goal for our own area that comes out of our own head, we really seek to find the will of the Lord and if we receive a promise from Him then we know it isn't just a goal that could or might now be fulfilled, we know it is something that is going to happen if we put in our part. In our zone we have prayed and received a promise that everyone in the zone will baptize at least one person in the first 2 weeks of November so we will see what happens! The Lord made his promise now it is on us!

This week was super good! Fun story we were walking down the raod one day and Elder Baird told me he saw some dude laying on the ground and I just thought "Oh that is normal, there are a ton of crazy people here who just sleep on the side of the road." But when we looked back he was dressed nicely and it kind of worried us, so we went over and were trying to figure out what was happening and see what the problem was. We checked and made sure he was breathing but we were looking around him and we couldn't find anything that would have signaled to why he had passed out. We tried to wake him up but we couldn't. But then upon further inspection and in a ditch nearby we found an almost empty bottle of alcohol and realized probably what had happened. But it wasn't safe for him there so we called some people over and they called an ambulance and it was just a fun experience of what happens here in the DR.

Other amazing experience, one night Elder Baird and I were walking and our appointment had just fallen through, and we didn't really know what to do. (Side note, I don't know if I have told yall what a colmado is, I am pretty sure I have but a colmado is basically a tiny store on just about every street corner that sells just about all the basic things you need to live. It is kind of just like a gas station, without the gas. It is the same thing Christian described as an almacen but we call them colamdos, they are always playing music and almost always showing some type of baseball game.) Elder Baird and I were walking past a colmado and we saw on the TV a giant American flag. Like one of those huge ones that they pull out that goes across 30 yards and they have to have 50-100 people on each side holding it. It obviously caught our attention so we went a little closer. As we were approaching I saw someone on the TV and it was obvious that a baseball game was just starting and they were about to sing the national anthem, but lo and behold one of my favorite country singers, Brad Paisley, pops onto the screen and sings just one of the best national anthems I have heard in my life. I had kind of a weird feeling after for a few reasons. Number one is because I haven't really heard country music at all here on the mission and so that was a strange feeling hearing him sing that, and two is I was sitting there in the middle of the Republica Dominicana, in a little colmado surrounded by people who only speak Spanish, listening to the Star-Spanlged Banner and without realizing it my hand had made its way over my heart and afterwards I just had a little "God bless America" moment. Elder Baird and I kind of just sat there and then we looked at each other, said that it was one of the most amazing things we have experienced together, and then went on with the night. It has been super weird having an American companion, considering the last one I had was in my first transfer over a year ago. Before I never really thought about a lot of things back home because no one could ever relate with me. But now having a companion from Utah is just a whole different scene. I have loved it! But it definitely makes me miss the United States more. So that was a fun little experience that we had this week.

Fun other things that happened, I got my hair cut and the guy didn't know what to do and he just used thinning scissors so now I hardly have hair and look like I am balding, I very much miss my hammock, Elder Baird has a coke addiction, we baught chips and salsa and it is amazing, and the Christmas season has already started here. It starts super early and everyone has already started putting up Christmas lights and Christmas trees soooo….

FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

STILL A HUGE BYU FAN AND LOVE THE WIN!!! (My comp showed me a Utah shirt he has and this week I will be burning it.. Pics to come)

HAVE AN AMAZING WEEK!!!

Love,

Elder Robertson

Week 69 - I love interviews with my Mission President

This past week was great but kind of stressful! We have a promise from the Lord that every companionship will baptize this month. It has been crazy because we have been working so hard to find people who are ready to be baptized. We found a completely new part of our area that we didn't know existed and we spent most of our week in that part just contacting. We found a ton of new people who have a ton of interest. Especially this one girl who just had a ton of questions and didn't understand why all of the churches seem to interpret scriptures based on their own knowledge and she thinks that those interpretations should only come from God. She was very interested to hear about revelation today and Prophets and people chosen to guide us and help us understand those things. We will be starting to teach her a lot more in this week. She is just one of many people who we found in this new part. It was a pretty successful contacting week.

But like I said it was stressful because out of the 7 companionships in our zone, only 3 have had a baptism. And two don't really seem to have possibilities. We have been working really hard trying to find the people who the Lord is preparing. This week is going to be amazing and I can't wait to see all of the people that we find in the zone. We have to work really hard and be even more obedient.

The other big thing that happened this week was we had interviews! I love interviews. I love having the opportunity to sit down one and one and talk with President. They were kind of fast this time because he didn't have a lot of time but I would love to share an insight that we talked about. As I am reading the Book of Mormon I am focusing on the principle of Faith. President and I were talking about that in our interview and he brought up an interesting point. Lehi had no idea where he was going. The Lord just commanded him to leave but didn't tell him where to go. Lehi straight up just left everything he had, packed up his family, and left into the desert without the slightest idea where he was to go. It seems that early on he actually thinks he arrived in the Land of Promise which was actually just a few days journey from Jerusalem. What example is that? Are we just as willing to follow the Lord's commands no matter if we see the outcome or not? It has been really interesting to study this because it is definitely something I need to have. I know the Lord will prepare a way for us to complete with all of the things that he has given us, I need to do all I can and follow to the very best of my ability.

I love yall a ton and I can't wait to share all of the miracles that happen in this week! Have a great week!!!

Sorry I didn't take any pictures this week. I will try better.

Love,

Elder Robertson

Week 68 - I got hit by a car

This week has been super awesome! Not a ton happened. I kind of feel bad because since Elder Baird got here we have just been getting rejected a ton. Like more than I have ever been rejected in my entire mission. But it's alright because we aren't letting it get to us. I have actually been laughing a lot more than I have in my mission.

The highlight of this week was Zone Conference! Pretty much the entire topic of the Conference was the Book of Mormon. It is crazy how much the mission, coming from the area presidency, is changing its focus to the Book of Mormon. We have agreed to fulfill the vision that President Benson had where he said that he saw the world being flooded with the Book of Mormon. We have now agreed as a mission to always, at all times, be walking with a copy of the Book of Mormon in our hand and contact everyone that we contact with that book.

I had to give a talk yesterday in church and they didn't really give me a topic to talk about so I got to pick my own. As I was thinking about what I should talk about I got the feeling to talk about why we should even share the gospel. It has been on my mind a lot lately. What is the point? Joseph Smith said once, "After all is said and done, the biggest and most important duty is sharing the gospel." (that is translated so I don't know if it is the exact quote.) I love that quote but I started thinking about why it is the most important. I thought of my personal motivation that I have shared with yall before but basically it is because of the Plan of Salvation.

I didn't really realize this before I got here but I would consider it to be the most misunderstood concept between the mix of religions. Because of the apostasy, the doctrine of the perfect plan that our Father in Heaven has for us is now so unknown. In reality, the plan is perfect and the more I learn about it the more I want to share it. I shared that in my talk and then encouraged everyone to think of their own reasons why they were seated in church that day and why they loved the church, then I encouraged them to think of one friend who needs that same reason in their lives and then make a plan to share in with them. I want to encourage all of y'all to do the same. You don't have to go out and invite all of them to church or any of that, but this week, think of the biggest reasons why you love the church and your motivating factor for why you get up every Sunday and go to church, and then share that with the person that you are thinking of right now!! DO IT!!!

Now that y'all are still wondering what the heck my topic was about, yes I did get hit by a car this week. It wasn't bad. A small moving truck was backing up on a one way street and I was looking the other way obviously. Right at the last second I heard it and lifted up my arm. Luckily it was only going a few miles an hour and knocked me back but really it just hurt my arm a little bit but I am totally fine, Elder Baird and I were just joking about how now I could put the topic of my letter that I got hit by a car.

Another hot week done in the DR. I imagine by now things all over the United States should be cooling down. That still isn't the case here. It is kind of weird now to think that the weather can be anything but super hot and rainy. In fact right now I am sweating writing this. But I am happy for all of y'all who are enjoying the nice weather.

This week we are making plans to have some awesome experiences so I will update yall on all of that next week!

I love yall!!! Have an amazing week!!!!

Love,

Elder Robertson

We have been challenged to flood the earth with the Book of Mormon.

Week 67 - The Book of Mormon is good

I hope everyone had a marvelous first week of October! I can't believe it is already here!! This year has been going by sooo fast! This past week was an AMAZING week!

Training has been really interesting. Elder Baird is a natural and is doing amazing. He is still frustrated with the language but he is learning a ton. I am learning even more from him. He has been teaching me so much! He loves to bear his testimony to everyone he can. I don't really feel like I am training. I mean I am helping him with Spanish and answering a few questions but for the most part we are just going at it.

Fun quick story about Spanish. I remember a little how stressful it is to do everything is Spanish and something my trainer did with me is that we always said our nightly companionship prayer in English and I loved it, it was a nice little break at the end of the day. Well last night it was my turn. And I couldn't do it. Elder Baird was dying of laughter listening to me pray and saying so many words wrong and not remembering words in English. When you are learning to pray in Spanish a lot of times you say as much as you can but if you don't know something you just throw it out there in English. I had to do that exact same thing but the other way around. I guess that is what happens when you haven't had an American companion for over a year.

Okay the last story, this is about the importance of the Book of Mormon. I am growing to love this book sooo much! We have almost completely changed the way we teach, the way we contact and the way we do missionary work to focus on the Book of Mormon. We met this one lady who was from a different church and when we started talking to us she was nice but told us that she really was not a big fan of our church. She said that she had visited the church before and that she had talked with the missionaries a few years back. She respects the religion but she said her biggest problem is she doesn't like "our book." We tried to explain and clarify a little bit because, lets be honest, if someone has heard of the Book of Mormon and doesn't just absolutely love it, it is probably because they don't understand it. In the end she agreed to have ONE appointment with us but only one.

We went back a few days later and her husband wasn't there and she started making excuses. But just as we were about to leave and really sad that we probably missed our one opportunity her husband got home. We started the lesson by asking them to completely forget everything they had ever heard about the Book of Mormon and act as if they were hearing about it for the very first time. What Elder Baird and I had decided to do was ask about how much they knew about Jesus Christ. Obviously they knew just about everything there is to know in the Bible and they happily shared with us what they knew. But when we asked if they knew that Jesus came to the Americas they both looked at us puzzled. We then had an opportunity to read 3 Nephi 11 with them and share our testimonies about the divinity of our Savior and explain what the book really was. We could both tell that they were feeling the spirit. It was one of the best lessons I have ever had. He explained to us that he had heard and visited with many missionaries but none of them had ever presented the Book of Mormon in that way and he had completely misunderstood what it is.

My whole point in sharing this is there are so many people who have heard about the Book of Mormon but have no idea really what it is. It isn't a story about Joseph Smith, it isn't the Bible of the Mormons, nor is it anything similar, it is a divine witness that Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer and through him and his Atonement, we can all be cleansed. If the entire world knew that and the importance of the book, imagine how different the world would be. It is our job to help them understand. A big part of it is how we present the book from the beginning.

I want to end with an invitation. One of the Elders from my group let me know that if we started reading the Book of Mormon today and read one chapter every day, we would finish the day we are scheduled to go home. I want to invite all of you at home to do the same. But don't read it just to read it. I would invite y'all to pick a topic of the gospel, faith, repentance, baptism, ect. Whatever it may be, and study especially for that topic. And study one chapter every day starting today.

I love yall a ton! I hope everyone is enjoying the fall! Have a great week! Share the gospel with someone this week!

Love,

Elder Robertson

It rained this week

A picture from my first day together with my trainee Elder Baird as well as with President and Sister Smith.

Week 66 - I'm a Dad

Wow what a crazy weird week!!!

So first of all let me tell you a Little about my new companions! His name is Elder Baird from Ogden, Utah. As most of you may be aware because I am his first companion out here in the field I am his "dad" and he is my "son." I feel kind of bad because his first week in the mission field was not a normal get to work kind of week. The meeting of new missionaries last Tuesday lasted a really long time and we didn't get back here until about 7 at night so there wasn't a ton to do. The next day was normal and we were trying to just go through the ropes. The next day we had a meeting that took up half of the day and we spent the rest of the day in another area in the zone trying to help them out with a few things. The next day we went to the Temple, and then the next two days were General Conference. It has been quite a first week but I am excited for the next week to really buckle down and get to work.

So first the temple. I love the temple so much and especially the temple here. It is crazy how much you can learn about life and your purpose here in life. I love to take my Patriarchal Blessing (shout out to mom for shrinking one down for me) through and reading it at the end. I have probably read that thing hundreds of times but this past time I read it I saw something that had new meaning especially for my life right where I am at. We are very priviledged in the mission because we get to go once every three months. Aparently a lot of other missions don't get to do that. The temple is so amazing and I want to make it a big goal to stay worthy and attend as often as I can when I get home and work to take my own names. That is so important especially in this time.

Okay now General Conference! Wow! This Conference was AWESOME!! I mean it felt a little different somehow but it was still amazing. I think a few of my favorite talks were two about the Book of Mormon. I love Elder Callister's talk because it was just so plain and now really nobody who was listening has any chance of denying the orignin of the book. He has also grown to be one of my favorite General Authorities just because I have read a lot of things by him and I like his way of talking. The other one was President Nelson's talk. One that completely answered one of my prayers on how to help one of our investigators. Two it is such a powerful self reflextion on how I feel about the book. The three questions he asked are very good questions to ask yourself very often to see what it means to you. What would my life be like without the Book of Mormon? What would you not know? What would you not have? My life would be completely different and lost without the Book of Mormon. I see so many different people here earnestly searching for the truth but don't know where to find it and sometimes have become so discouraged that they have stopped looking. I have been so grateful many, many times in my mission and life for the sure knowledge that I am a member of the true church of Christ. I love this Gospel so much and have a burning desire to share it with all of the people around me.

Man I love this mission and I love the opportunity to serve. I love General Conference and I love the temple. I am humbled by the opportunity to be able to train and am trying to figure it out the best I can. But I have a feeling that this week is going to be an amazing week!

I love yall!!!

Love,

Elder Robertson

Me with my new trainee, Elder Baird (that's him on my left) and some other missionaries.

Me with my new trainee, Elder Baird (that's him on my right) in front of the temple.

Week 65 - Two Really Boring Hurricanes

Okay first and foremost, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!! I know it isn't for a few days but obviously this will be the only time that I will be able to say happy birthday.

Second is that I can now say that I survived two really boring hurricanes. Absolutely nothing happened and it was a really boring day where we were told that we couldn't leave our houses. So it was basically a day of planning for the zone.

Third is we had a baptism!!! This was such an awesome one! His name is Enmanuel. He is a youth and LOVES the church! The missionaries found him about 6 months ago while contacting a different reference. As they got to know him they found out that his older sister is actuall a member. She got baptized a few years ago and then imediately stopped going to church. Because of that, their parents did not want Enmanuel to get baptized. But he right away started studying the Book of Mormon and received an answer early on in his studies that the church was true. So he remained faithful. He went to church every week and always begged his parents to let him get baptized. The first time I met him I knew that I had to do everything that I could to get permission from his parents. Long story short, after many long lessons and many prayers, his parents finally gave him permission to get baptized. I have never seen a happier person in my life. He literally was jumping for joy when he called us and told us that he was going to get baptized. It was such a good service and the spirit was felt so much. To the point where his mom came to church the next day and really liked it and now we are going to start teaching her even more. I have a feeling that because of the example of Enmanuel, his entire family will end up being sealed in the temple for time and all eternity.

Fourth is that transfers came. And the next 6 weeks are going to be a little interesting. I am staying as Zone Leader 1 here in Ralma and my companion is leaving. But they moved the other Zone Leader to a different area. It is in the same zone but we live in a different house. I think this is going to be very interesting trying to plan and coordinate for the zone. But this happened because I am going to train a brand new missionary. It is actually a pattern that is in all of the mission. I don't know of one zone where the Zone Leaders are companions. And there are many who are going to train. I am so excited! I still remember the day that I got into the mission like it was yesterday. I obviously don't know who it is yet but there is a meeting tomorrow for President to pair everyone up.

That is kind of funny about BYU and caffeine. You are right mom that doesn't really do anything for me because they don't have Dr. Pepper. And it really isn't much of a change because Zach, Christian and I often went to Walmart and we often had Dr. Pepper in our dorm room so it wont be that big of a change. We will probably still do the same. Plus Swig is right there by campus and you can buy whatever you want.

That is insane how much damage there is in Houston. I totally agree with you dad about not wanting to be "less and less astonished" and always recognize the hand of the Lord in my life. Now more than ever. I have seen so many amazing miracles on my mission.

Honestly everything is going so well. I love this mission and I love this gospel so much. I hope no one ever takes for granted the amazing gift we have to be in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and that everyone realizes the importance of sharing this with everyone.

I love yall a ton!! Have an amazing week!!

Love,

Elder Robertson

Awesome picture of lightning after the hurricane

Amazing sunset

A wonderful baptism.

Our ward has a sort of swap meet and I found this dope jacket.

Hurricane Maria update from Tyler's Mission President

[For those wondering about Tyler in the Dominican Republic and how he was affected by Hurricane Maria which just passed to the North of their island, here's the update we got from his mission president.]

Dear Parents,

Hurricane Maria has passed by to the North of our island earlier today. Although we are still feeling some remnants of the storm. As a safety precaution, yesterday we moved 20 missionaries who were serving in the east and north areas of the country to a safer location. I am happy to report that all missionaries are safe and healthy. None of the missionary's houses or apartments were damaged by the storm. The missionaries who were moved will return to their areas tomorrow, Friday September 22, after the storm has completely passed and is safe. Thank you for your prayers. God bless you for all you do.

Sincerely,

Bret G. Smith

President
Dominican Republic Santo Domingo East Mission

The path that Hurricane Maria has taken so far. Notice the direct hit on Puerto Rico, but passing safely by the Dominican Republic. Tyler is in Santo Domingo which is on the south side of the island.

Week 64 - Long Interview with President

That is crazy about the Stake Presidency!! I will get released and received by completely different leaders! That is nuts! But I agree that is a power house of a Stake Presidency!  I am excited to see what happens in the future!

This week was super awesome!!! We had interviews with President Smith this past week. They were originally scheduled for the Thursday that Irma passed and y'all can imagine why we didn't have them that day. So they said they would let us know and Tuesday morning they called us and told us they were that day. So we scrambled to get the Zone together and headed over to have interviews. And the lasted soooo long. Apparently President Smith likes to interview the Zone Leaders last which is opposite of what President Corbitt did. But we were there waiting and waiting and waiting and at the end of the day I was the only person from the zone who couldn't do their interview. So I had to go down to the office the next morning to have my interview. I feel a little lucky and a little selfish because I was the only person to have an interview that day and it lasted a really long time because we were just talking. It turned into a little companionship study between the two and he shared a few of his thoughts for the future of the mission and it was so awesome!!

Other than that the only big thing that happened this week is we had a cosecha in one of the areas in the zone. Let me explain a little more what a "harvest" is. It is when all of the areas in the zone go to one specific area and help and have like a crazy few hours where all of the missionaries are working just in one area. It was so awesome! I had a very interesting experience. I was sitting with a family of investigators that they have and we were trying to help them have more desire to come to church. They were giving us some excuses on why they can't come and I had an overwhelming feeling of what I can only describe in Joseph Smith's words where he felt to "mourn for his sins and the sins of the world." It was such a weird experience because I almost hurt inside because this family was letting a few little things keep them from the best thing in their lives. I love so much what Dad said about numbers. It is a very big topic here in the mission. Of course God cares about numbers because all of those numbers haave names. All of those people are children of His. He wants all of them to find the truth and I need to be the kind of missionary that He trusts them with.

For P day I got a group of Elders together and we went to the only church in our mission with an indoor baksetball court and played a lot and it was super fun.

And last thing we are supposed to let yall know again that there is a plan for our safety but I don't think it will be necessary.

I love yall a ton! I love this gospel! Have an amazing week!!!

Love,

Elder Robertson

For P-Day we went to the only church in our mission with an indoor basketball court and played a lot. It was super fun.

This picture is a little blurry but it's a picture of our zone playing basketball.

A double rainbow all the way across the sky! But you can't really see the second one very well.

Week 63 - Hurricane Irma barely touched us

Well just to throw this out there the hurricane hardly touched us. President told us that we had to spend all day thursday in the house but we totally could have gone out. There was some pretty good wind and about 2:30 in the afternoon it started to rain pretty hard but it only lasted a few hours. It really wasn't anything out of the ordinary for the Dominican Republic. But I did have an interesting realization.

Wednesday during lunch we went to a store in our area that could be compared in size to a small H-E-B because president said we needed to buy a few things just to be prepared. We went and bought like 3 things and we were waiting to buy them for over a half an hour. The lines went back half of the store. Everything was completely empty on the shelves. I didn't have my camera with me to take pictures. Everyone in the store was crazy. When I saw that that happened I sat there thinking that all of these people are so lucky to have a warning. All of these people had a big warning that there was a need to be prepared, but even then all of these people waited until the very last day they could to go and be prepared. Now in this occasion it worked out for them. They had enough time to prepare themselves before Irma came.

I sat there thinking if people have a similar attitude towards the second coming of Jesus Christ.

I had a pretty interesting realization that hit me a couple days after. I have always felt that when Jesus comes it is going to be a big thing that is going to last for a long time. That everyone will know that it is happening and for that there will be more time to prepare. But one day something hi me that it isn't going to happen like that. Of course there are some signs but really when he comes if we aren't prepared we won't have time to run to the store at the last minute. We will have to live with what we have and it is our job to be ready for that starting right now.

It does sound like the world is kind of going crazy with all of these disasters. It makes me sad seeing so much destruction. That was awesome to hear about all of the adventures in Houston. Everyone is asking me if y'all are okay because everyone knows I am from Texas. I am inspired by the church and the members so willing to help in such a hard time.

I want to end with a quote that my Elders Quorum President said yesterday when we went on splits. We were just talking and he turned to me and just said, "I love this gospel." I really do love this gospel so much and I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve the people here in the DR. I am so grateful for such and amazing family and such amazing parents. I truly feel like I have been so blessed my entire life. Thank yall for all of the amazing work yall do. I love yall a ton and hope that yall have an amazing week!!

Love,

Elder Robertson

Week 62 - Preparing for Hurricane Irma

So first off we are supposed to inform y'all that the mission does have a plan of emergency especially for hurricanes. The plan basically is just buy all of the canned food that we can and lock ourselves in our houses. Yall don't have to worry because I am in a part that is really close to the capitol and all of the houses are built pretty well. So if worse comes to worse I at least wont be in danger. But even though the center of the storm is going north of us we should still receive a lot of rain and wind and the draining system isn't good at all so even though it wont hit us it will still be interesting to see what happens. But I'm not too worried.

That is so sad to hear about Houston. That is going to take a long time to get back to normal. I will keep praying for them but I am excited to hear the stories about y'all going down to help them.

The emergency meeting was awesome. It started at 8 in the morning and lasted until 5. With hardly any stops. It isn't a big surprise that the main topic was about obedience. But it was an awesome meeting that we all got together to put a plan into action about how we are going to improve. August is the first month of my entire mission where the mission didn't baptize more than 100 people. It had a lot of people really concerned. I But we put a plan into action about how to purify ourselves and how to be more consecrated.

Basically we all started by doing a fast together, during that fast we all made a list of things that keep us from having the Holy Ghost with us as a constant companion. All of the things we need to change or improve. Then we made a promise that we wouldn't do any of them for 40 days. Of course it is a process but every night we need to do a check up with the Lord and if we didn't do well in one area we have to make plans to do better the next day.

It has only been a couple of days but I have already seen a huge change in my life and in the zone!! And they aren't even things really bad but things that I didn't think were distracting me but they were. But I have noticed a huge change in my life. As I try and focus on only the things here in the mission and what I need to be doing here, I have felt like the Lord has been trusting me more to know his will. In the past two days I felt like I have received some revelations for our area and our zone in ways that I never have before but I know that they come from God. I have felt the influence of the Spirit stronger in my life and especially in our lessons which is the most important. I seriously can't wait to see all of the changes that come about from this!!! I know that we are going to see a huge change in the mission and I know that even if the other missionaries don't want to take it seriously I can at least make sure that I can do all in my power that our zone really improves and becomes more in tune with the spirit.

I know I will have a ton of stories to share next week about it all but this week we literally were only in our area one day from all of the meetings and things that we had so that was kind of stressful but this week will be calmer and we are going to have a good chance to really get some good work done. This week we also have interviews with president and I love interviews with president! I always try and take as much one on one time as I can get with him just to ask him questions and find out how I can improve as a missionary!

That is nuts that there are only three people in the house now! I was thinking the yesterday in church that our once big family that always had to sit in the middle benches is now down to only two people sitting down in the congregation! They can sit on the side bench with another family if they want! How nuts is that???

I love y'all so much and am kind of excited to let y'all know next week if there was anything big that happened here but I have a feeling that there won't be!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love,

Elder Robertson