Hey yall its me again! I have had an absolutely amazing week!! However it has also been one of the most stressful and crazy weeks of my life! So as yall know we as a mission have a goal of baptizing 300 people this month. This being the last week of the month it was super hectic. Mostly because of baptismal interviews. It would take a long time to explain but basically it was a lot of running around to different areas and doing a bunch of different interviews for a ton of people. Normally we go back to the house at 1 in the afternoon to eat and study and dont leave until 3. But a couple days this week we left super early and didnt have time to go back so we just kept going from 10am until 9 at night. It has been exhausting and I basically just fall right into bed when I am done with everything. But it all definitely paid off!! I tried to send pictures last week but it didnt work but if I can send pictures this week then I want yall to virtually meet S****, J**** and W****. They are three amazing people who we found the first couple days we were here. I will try to give a very brief summery of them.
S**** was actually a new investigator of the missionaries before they left (remember that there was like a 5 week period where there werent missionaries here) But he still continued to go to church, although he wasnt super interested in getting baptized because he was super catholic. His cousin S**** is a recent convert and she was the one who introduced him to the church. Basically after talking to him for a while and him not wanting to get baptized, we had a great lesson with him where is cousin just down right called him out and said Ï know you know that this is all true or else you wouldnt have stopped attending your church to go to this church every week. It was super awesome and he finally accepted a baptismal date and it was super awesome to watch him get baptized!
J**** was an oooold investigator of the missionaries. Well not that old but like it was like 6 months ago. She loved the church and started to go a lot. But then her husband left her with her two kids and she had to pick up a job and it required her to work on Sundays. But after a while she realized the church was more important so she left her job and found us and told us she wanted to get baptized! She is super awesome and her kids are adorable!
And last is W**** (la niña) She had been going to church for a little while with her brother but she was only 7 years old. Her brother stopped going and she tried to go but it was really hard. She is actually the neighbor of J****, and her niece I think, and when she saw us talking to her aunt she told us that she just turned 8 and really wants to get baptized!
All of these people are super amazing! I love this work and really can say there is no better feeling than to see someone you grow to love get dressed in white and enter into the waters of baptism. On Saturday we had another Noche Blanca so our whole zone baptized in the same night in the same place it was super awesome and a super spiritual experience!
The last thing I want to talk about is something I realized this week when someone asked me a question. A question that I have actually been asked a ton here but it didnt hit me until just now. The question was simple and sincere. We were walking down the street and a man stopped us and asked when we meet, we told him that we meet on Sundays at 9am. He then asked if there are any other times because he has to work on Sundays. We told him there werent but he was always invited on Sunday. It was a very basic conversation and one of which we have a lot. A lot of churches here (and I am assuming everywhere) have meetings other than Sundays. And thats awesome! But I think a big reason for that is to give people a chance to still come to church who cant come to the other services. And something that hit me as I was walking away is something I have heard throughout my life but it just came right into my mind. It said ¨God is no respecter of persons.¨I used to feel a little sad that we didnt have other services that people could attend who couldnt come on Sundays but in that moment I realized that I shouldnt. Because from the beginning it has been a commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy and that is the reason we have our services on Sunday. While of course God cares about each and every one of us individually, there are no special cases. We are expected to make the sacrifices necessary to keep his commandments and if we do that he promises us more blessings than we can receive. It is the same with all of his commandments. Of course we have our physical needs but how many things do we change or complain about or try to do the least possible just because it is convenient for us? I know I have done that a lot. But I also know, both because I have seen it in my life and especially in the lives of the people here who are willing to sacrifice so much to follow our Savior, when we are willing to make the sacrifices necessary, to leave our job on Sunday, to pay a full tithe or offering, to repent of the things we need to, of course it is going to be hard and a challenge, we dont receive the blessings until after the trail of our faith, but when we do have that faith and trust in the Lord, we will be blessed with more blessings that we could have ever thought possible.
Thanks for letting me ramble a little bit! I love yall so much and I cant believe January is already over! This month absolutely flew by!
I hope yall have a great week!! We will talk next week! :)
Love Yall!!
Elder Robertson
Monday, January 30, 2017
Monday, January 23, 2017
Week 30 - I'm actually the Relief Society President
Wow. This week has been super long! So a little background. Elder Garcia was here in this area last transfer. But a week into it his companion went home and he got moved to another area for the remaining six weeks. So he only has one week here (now two) and he didnt learn a whole lot while he was here so we are basically white washing the area which is super hard because it is HUGE!!! So that just means a ton of walking and a ton of contacting. Which hasnt been that bad. We have found a lot of amazing people with a lot of potential. The ward here is a little interesting. It isnt super big and has a lot of old people in it but I am excited to work with them!
Being a district leader is harder than I thought. Not because it is a lot of work. But because it changes my whole view as a missionary. Like before I am focussed on my area and my companion and our investigators but now I find myself thinking about the investigators and the missionaries in my district throughout the day and it is kind of hard to explain but it is kind of hard. Because I want to help a lot of people but I cant because I dont have access to them. Also I got my title wrong. I am not the district leader. I am the Relief Society President. Or at least that is what the other missionaries call me because my district is me and my companion, and 4 sisters. It isnt bad but it is a little change of scenery considering my last zone didnt have any sisters in it. But I am still really new at this and pretty sure I am doing it all wrong but I will keep trying!
As for Santo Domingo. It is nuts! First of all there are a lot of crazy people here. Like I am talking legit certifiable and they just walk around in the streets and then when they see you they come up and just go off about something. And everything is SO expensive here! Out in my last area it was super cheap. All the food and everything but here in the middle of the city it just costs a ton. But its okay it just means I will have to develop some good money managing skills, something I have never really had jaja. But the people here are still awesome! I love it here. I wont lie and say I dont miss my old area. There are a lot of people and members and converts and investigators that I really miss. Like Robert. I actually because super good friends with him before I left. But I am trying to get to know all the people here and as far as I can tell there are a lot of friendly people here.
Oh quick side note we live really close to the house of the President of the country and yesterday there was a giant protest against him and it was filling all the streets. We couldnt get into our apartment for a long time and then when we finally got in it didnt stop for like a half an hour of just people marching. So that was interesting.
Speaking of the apartment it is SUPER awesome!! WE HAVE HOT WATER!! I REPEAT, THERE IS HOT WATER!! I didnt actually remember how much I missed showering with hot water. Apparently it is only one of like 4 houses in the mission that has hot water. So I have really been taking advantage of that.
My companion and I have been getting along. We are both from the same group so it has been a little interesting. But so far so good! He is awesome! He is a convert and has a huge testimony of the Book of Mormon so he loves to hand out copies! We are just handing out random copies to everyone who will accept one!
Okay the last thing is I want to leave yall with one of my favorite things I have read in Jesus the Christ. Jesus just gets done telling the parable of The Unrighteous Steward. It is super long so if you want to read it is found in Luke 16. But a comment on it in the book reads:
"Take a lesson from even the dishonest and the evil; if they are so prudent as to provide for the only suture they think of, how much more should you, who believe in an eternal future, provide therefor! If you have not learned wisdom and prudence in the use of "unrighteous mammon," how can you be trusted with the more enduring riches¡ If you have not learned how to use properly the wealth of another, which has been committed to you as steward, how can you expect to be successful in the handling of great wealth should such be given you as your own?"
Everything we own, everything on this earth, has been entrusted to us by our Heavenly Father. This life is a testing period. We have earthly temptations and many objects of this world that everyone wants. We are here to see if we can handle this limited amount of riches. If we can handle the temptations of this world and of the flesh. To see if we really have this control over the body. If we cant handle this, how are we supposed to handle the unlimited riches, even all that our Father in Heaven possesses, that have been promised to us if we keep his commandments¡ Just a few of my thoughts from my study!
Love yall!!!!
Talk to yall next week!!!
Love,
Elder Robertson
Being a district leader is harder than I thought. Not because it is a lot of work. But because it changes my whole view as a missionary. Like before I am focussed on my area and my companion and our investigators but now I find myself thinking about the investigators and the missionaries in my district throughout the day and it is kind of hard to explain but it is kind of hard. Because I want to help a lot of people but I cant because I dont have access to them. Also I got my title wrong. I am not the district leader. I am the Relief Society President. Or at least that is what the other missionaries call me because my district is me and my companion, and 4 sisters. It isnt bad but it is a little change of scenery considering my last zone didnt have any sisters in it. But I am still really new at this and pretty sure I am doing it all wrong but I will keep trying!
As for Santo Domingo. It is nuts! First of all there are a lot of crazy people here. Like I am talking legit certifiable and they just walk around in the streets and then when they see you they come up and just go off about something. And everything is SO expensive here! Out in my last area it was super cheap. All the food and everything but here in the middle of the city it just costs a ton. But its okay it just means I will have to develop some good money managing skills, something I have never really had jaja. But the people here are still awesome! I love it here. I wont lie and say I dont miss my old area. There are a lot of people and members and converts and investigators that I really miss. Like Robert. I actually because super good friends with him before I left. But I am trying to get to know all the people here and as far as I can tell there are a lot of friendly people here.
Oh quick side note we live really close to the house of the President of the country and yesterday there was a giant protest against him and it was filling all the streets. We couldnt get into our apartment for a long time and then when we finally got in it didnt stop for like a half an hour of just people marching. So that was interesting.
Speaking of the apartment it is SUPER awesome!! WE HAVE HOT WATER!! I REPEAT, THERE IS HOT WATER!! I didnt actually remember how much I missed showering with hot water. Apparently it is only one of like 4 houses in the mission that has hot water. So I have really been taking advantage of that.
My companion and I have been getting along. We are both from the same group so it has been a little interesting. But so far so good! He is awesome! He is a convert and has a huge testimony of the Book of Mormon so he loves to hand out copies! We are just handing out random copies to everyone who will accept one!
Okay the last thing is I want to leave yall with one of my favorite things I have read in Jesus the Christ. Jesus just gets done telling the parable of The Unrighteous Steward. It is super long so if you want to read it is found in Luke 16. But a comment on it in the book reads:
"Take a lesson from even the dishonest and the evil; if they are so prudent as to provide for the only suture they think of, how much more should you, who believe in an eternal future, provide therefor! If you have not learned wisdom and prudence in the use of "unrighteous mammon," how can you be trusted with the more enduring riches¡ If you have not learned how to use properly the wealth of another, which has been committed to you as steward, how can you expect to be successful in the handling of great wealth should such be given you as your own?"
Everything we own, everything on this earth, has been entrusted to us by our Heavenly Father. This life is a testing period. We have earthly temptations and many objects of this world that everyone wants. We are here to see if we can handle this limited amount of riches. If we can handle the temptations of this world and of the flesh. To see if we really have this control over the body. If we cant handle this, how are we supposed to handle the unlimited riches, even all that our Father in Heaven possesses, that have been promised to us if we keep his commandments¡ Just a few of my thoughts from my study!
Love yall!!!!
Talk to yall next week!!!
Love,
Elder Robertson
Monday, January 16, 2017
Week 29 - I'm being transferred and made District Leader
Well the time has finally come to leave Lotes y Servicios. I will be leaving tomorrow to the heart of Santo Domingo. I am not super sure of the exact geographical location. But my area is called Villa Fransisca. I am going to have another companion from Honduras! His name is Elder Garcia. He is actually from my group but he got here 3 weeks after me because he obviously speaks Spanish so I will be senior companion by 3 weeks. Also, President called me the other day and told me that I am going to be the district leader down there so that will be fun. Technically the second time but this time I will actually have to do something. I am actually super nervous for that because as a district leader I have to do the baptismal interviews for the people in my district. Im not too worried about the meetings or anything but that other part is a big responsibility. I have to authority to determine if someone is ready for baptism or not. So I am kinda freaking out a little bit about that so if anyone has any advice or anything it is openly welcomed.
The last week in Lotes was kind of disappointing. If you dont remember my first baptism here was named N****. And ever since then we have been working with her sister Y**** to get baptized. She really wants to and we have been trying so hard but her boss keeps asking her to work on her days off and we never have any time to do it. She was supposed to be off all day yesterday and we had everything planned but her boss asked her to work again so she couldnt do it. I will keep yall updated when she actually gets baptized but I am a little sad I wont be here for it.
These past couple weeks have been FREEZING!!!! Only in the night though. Like all the Dominicans are going crazy because they arent used to such cold weather. It is weird I have grown so accustomed to the heat that this cold weather is killing me. I keep waking up in the middle of the night freezing cold because I didnt pack well enough to sleep in cold weather. Okay I am kind of joking but it has been dropping in the night. The other day it got down to 73 degrees and here that actually is freezing. I am seeing people in the streets with full out jackets and pants. And I actually have grown really accustomed to the heat. So I wasnt kidding when I say that I am waking up freezing. I will attach a picture of when I stole two jackets and some sweat pants from one of the Elders in the house because 73 degrees felt the same as 20 to me. So that will be fun going back to Utah and then dying.
It actually has been a little sad saying goodbye to people. In my first area it wasnt that bad because I was only there one transfer and didnt make a lot of close relationships but here I have a ton of friends that I have made and it has sucked saying goodbye to them all. I think this will definitely be the first place I visit when I come back because there are some really amazing people here. I really do love my mission and I love this country so much. I cant wait for you guys to meet them some day!
However I am really excited to go to the very center of Santo Domingo! I am excited for all the new people I am going to meet and all the adventures I am going to have! I love yall so much and will update yall on my new area and companion and everything next week!
Have a fantastic week!
Con amor,
Elder Robertson
The last week in Lotes was kind of disappointing. If you dont remember my first baptism here was named N****. And ever since then we have been working with her sister Y**** to get baptized. She really wants to and we have been trying so hard but her boss keeps asking her to work on her days off and we never have any time to do it. She was supposed to be off all day yesterday and we had everything planned but her boss asked her to work again so she couldnt do it. I will keep yall updated when she actually gets baptized but I am a little sad I wont be here for it.
These past couple weeks have been FREEZING!!!! Only in the night though. Like all the Dominicans are going crazy because they arent used to such cold weather. It is weird I have grown so accustomed to the heat that this cold weather is killing me. I keep waking up in the middle of the night freezing cold because I didnt pack well enough to sleep in cold weather. Okay I am kind of joking but it has been dropping in the night. The other day it got down to 73 degrees and here that actually is freezing. I am seeing people in the streets with full out jackets and pants. And I actually have grown really accustomed to the heat. So I wasnt kidding when I say that I am waking up freezing. I will attach a picture of when I stole two jackets and some sweat pants from one of the Elders in the house because 73 degrees felt the same as 20 to me. So that will be fun going back to Utah and then dying.
It actually has been a little sad saying goodbye to people. In my first area it wasnt that bad because I was only there one transfer and didnt make a lot of close relationships but here I have a ton of friends that I have made and it has sucked saying goodbye to them all. I think this will definitely be the first place I visit when I come back because there are some really amazing people here. I really do love my mission and I love this country so much. I cant wait for you guys to meet them some day!
However I am really excited to go to the very center of Santo Domingo! I am excited for all the new people I am going to meet and all the adventures I am going to have! I love yall so much and will update yall on my new area and companion and everything next week!
Have a fantastic week!
Con amor,
Elder Robertson
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| This is what I am like when it gets down to 73 degrees. I'm so used to the heat that this is like a winter cold front! |
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| 73 degrees! It's freezing here! |
Monday, January 9, 2017
Week 28 - Help thou my unbelief
Okay so this week has been super awesome!! Nothing special really happened it is just super awesome being a missionary!! We have really been focussing on talking to everyone. President told us that we really don't know who the Lord has prepared so we have to talk to everyone. In this past week I have probably met at least 70 people. We met this one guy and it was super awesome because by the end of the lesson he told us that he knew we were sanctified by Christ and because of that he wanted us to give him a blessing even though he usually doesn't ask people to pray for him. His hip had been bothering him for a while and it has been giving him some trouble when he tries to sleep. So we gave him a blessing, and when we came back he told us that all that pain was gone, so now we wanted us to "fix" some other problems he had. I thought that was kinda funny.
Other than that not a ton happened this week. It is crazy how much opposition we are seeing. As I explained in our skype call, we have really upped our goals for this month. In a meeting with the leaders of the mission President asked them a question, he asked, "do yall think Satan is going to be happy at our intensified efforts?" He warned us that we will be seeing a lot more opposition. And he was right. We have been working with and preparing so many people but every single one of them have problems that come up and it is so frustrating but it's okay because I know opposition is necessary and can actually be a good thing. It is just a lot harder to work with faith knowing that things are going to go wrong.
But that leads me into one of my favorite bible stories that is only like 3 verses long. In mark 9 we find an instance of a man who has a son who is suffering from some illness. Christ asks the man if he can believe, because all things are possible to those that believe. Now from everything I have read I could go off on a tangent about the differences between faith and belief but I will save that for another time. The man responds with a simple "Lord, I believe." and then realizing who he is talking to and sincerely wanting to believe in the power of the Son of God he adds, "help thou mine unbelief." That is one of my favorite pleas in all of the scriptures because it applies to me so directly.
I do know that through the Lord all things are possible. But I also know that the Lord can work those wonders through me if I believe it is possible. And the big goals and things in my life that I really want to believe are possible, like the Lord actually working miracles through my hands, I can, and have, plead with the Lord many times that same phrase, "Help thou mine unbelief." It has really changed my view as a missionary, but also as a person. I'm not sure if any of that made any sense but yeah!
This is the last week of the transfer so next week I will know if I am staying or leaving Lotes y Servicios. I am excited for whatever challenges lay ahead!
Have an amazing week!!
Elder Robertson
Other than that not a ton happened this week. It is crazy how much opposition we are seeing. As I explained in our skype call, we have really upped our goals for this month. In a meeting with the leaders of the mission President asked them a question, he asked, "do yall think Satan is going to be happy at our intensified efforts?" He warned us that we will be seeing a lot more opposition. And he was right. We have been working with and preparing so many people but every single one of them have problems that come up and it is so frustrating but it's okay because I know opposition is necessary and can actually be a good thing. It is just a lot harder to work with faith knowing that things are going to go wrong.
But that leads me into one of my favorite bible stories that is only like 3 verses long. In mark 9 we find an instance of a man who has a son who is suffering from some illness. Christ asks the man if he can believe, because all things are possible to those that believe. Now from everything I have read I could go off on a tangent about the differences between faith and belief but I will save that for another time. The man responds with a simple "Lord, I believe." and then realizing who he is talking to and sincerely wanting to believe in the power of the Son of God he adds, "help thou mine unbelief." That is one of my favorite pleas in all of the scriptures because it applies to me so directly.
I do know that through the Lord all things are possible. But I also know that the Lord can work those wonders through me if I believe it is possible. And the big goals and things in my life that I really want to believe are possible, like the Lord actually working miracles through my hands, I can, and have, plead with the Lord many times that same phrase, "Help thou mine unbelief." It has really changed my view as a missionary, but also as a person. I'm not sure if any of that made any sense but yeah!
This is the last week of the transfer so next week I will know if I am staying or leaving Lotes y Servicios. I am excited for whatever challenges lay ahead!
Have an amazing week!!
Elder Robertson
Monday, January 2, 2017
Week 27 - Happy New Year!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! IT IS SO WEIRD THAT I GOT HERE IN 2016 AND IT IS ALREADY 2017 THE TIME IS FLYING BY!!!!!
Second, BEST belated Christmas morning (afternoon) ever!! I got all four packages at the same time and everyone in my zone was like whoaaa your family really loves you haha. Not even going to lie I still have all of my Christmas decorations hung up and I don't really plan on taking them down anytime soon. The piano is AMAZING and exactly what I had in mind, well actually a lot better than what I had in mind!! It has been really hard to stop playing it and actually do things like real missionary work. No jk but it is really really awesome!! And it is kind of odd that I am actually writing this part of my letter on Friday just because I can. I love everything so much! I just would like everyone to know that I actually have the best family in the world and yall can disagree but just so you know, you are wrong.
ANYWAYSS getting into real missionary work. This week was super good!! There wasn't a ton that happened on the missionary front because this week is a little crazy for the people here. Everyone is traveling or partying or doing things like that so it is a lot harder to find people to teach. The highlight of my week was probably New Years Eve and New Years day. On New Years Eve we went and ate dinner with my second family (Don't worry they don't come close to my first.) But they are really awesome and one thing about Dominicans is they realllly like to make a ton of food and invite a ton of people over for specific holidays. So we get over there and she was like ohhh yay the missionaries!! Here take enough food to fill three grown men and eat it all! But I'm not complaining because it was super good. But we still have to go home early because when it gets dark outside. the people here get a little insane. You know how there are certain rules and laws in the US that restrict music being played to loud or past a certain hour? Yeah those laws don't exist here, especially on party days. There was this giant group of people that started a big party in the middle of this one street not to far from the church. We saw it when it got started at about 4pm on Saturday, and was still going until we went home Sunday night. The people here are crazy. But it was really fun because the Elders I live with are super awesome and we made tacos last night and they were sooo good!
Okay now to end on a spiritual note. I read something in Jesus the Christ this week and I absolutely love it! It says, "The capacity to be grateful is a blessing, for the possession of which we should be further grateful." How true is that? Is it not one of the greatest blessings in the world to be able to kneel down and thank our heavenly father for all of the amazing blessings he gives us? We are taught that we should start our prayers with things we are grateful for but are we really taking advantage of the opportunity to be grateful? Something I was challenged to do a while ago was say a few prayers, especially before you go to bed, and don't ask for anything. The Lord knows our needs, only thank him for all of the blessings in your life. If you do it consistantly you will realize all the things that you just blinding thank him for and really start to be thankful for all the blessings you have as you have to think of more and more blessings in your life. I am so grateful for the wonderful family I have that loves me and supports me in everything I do and I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father for them and this opportunity to serve this amazing people of the Dominican Republic.
You guys are amazing and I hope yall have an amazing week!!
Con amor,
Elder Robertson
Second, BEST belated Christmas morning (afternoon) ever!! I got all four packages at the same time and everyone in my zone was like whoaaa your family really loves you haha. Not even going to lie I still have all of my Christmas decorations hung up and I don't really plan on taking them down anytime soon. The piano is AMAZING and exactly what I had in mind, well actually a lot better than what I had in mind!! It has been really hard to stop playing it and actually do things like real missionary work. No jk but it is really really awesome!! And it is kind of odd that I am actually writing this part of my letter on Friday just because I can. I love everything so much! I just would like everyone to know that I actually have the best family in the world and yall can disagree but just so you know, you are wrong.
ANYWAYSS getting into real missionary work. This week was super good!! There wasn't a ton that happened on the missionary front because this week is a little crazy for the people here. Everyone is traveling or partying or doing things like that so it is a lot harder to find people to teach. The highlight of my week was probably New Years Eve and New Years day. On New Years Eve we went and ate dinner with my second family (Don't worry they don't come close to my first.) But they are really awesome and one thing about Dominicans is they realllly like to make a ton of food and invite a ton of people over for specific holidays. So we get over there and she was like ohhh yay the missionaries!! Here take enough food to fill three grown men and eat it all! But I'm not complaining because it was super good. But we still have to go home early because when it gets dark outside. the people here get a little insane. You know how there are certain rules and laws in the US that restrict music being played to loud or past a certain hour? Yeah those laws don't exist here, especially on party days. There was this giant group of people that started a big party in the middle of this one street not to far from the church. We saw it when it got started at about 4pm on Saturday, and was still going until we went home Sunday night. The people here are crazy. But it was really fun because the Elders I live with are super awesome and we made tacos last night and they were sooo good!
Okay now to end on a spiritual note. I read something in Jesus the Christ this week and I absolutely love it! It says, "The capacity to be grateful is a blessing, for the possession of which we should be further grateful." How true is that? Is it not one of the greatest blessings in the world to be able to kneel down and thank our heavenly father for all of the amazing blessings he gives us? We are taught that we should start our prayers with things we are grateful for but are we really taking advantage of the opportunity to be grateful? Something I was challenged to do a while ago was say a few prayers, especially before you go to bed, and don't ask for anything. The Lord knows our needs, only thank him for all of the blessings in your life. If you do it consistantly you will realize all the things that you just blinding thank him for and really start to be thankful for all the blessings you have as you have to think of more and more blessings in your life. I am so grateful for the wonderful family I have that loves me and supports me in everything I do and I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father for them and this opportunity to serve this amazing people of the Dominican Republic.
You guys are amazing and I hope yall have an amazing week!!
Con amor,
Elder Robertson
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| Here you see me eating food, I had already eaten half when this picture was taken. |
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| This was me eating nutella for the first time in 6 months because it is crazy expensive here. |
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| We went to a HUGE mall that was in the West mission and I ate McDonald's yay. |
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| And I ran into the wife of my MTC president and that made me so happy because she is awesome!! They go back home to Dallas in two weeks! |
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