Olympics! June 17, 2019

So many things have been happening this week and everything has been so draining but it is very awesome!

For missionary work, this week has been really slow. We tried by so many people and most were with appointments, but they were not there. We have been running around everywhere, trying to call and visit and help. The visits we did have though were great! they were fairly long but we were able to get to know them more and address more of their needs for future visits. 

We have been running into a ton of people that want help, but only the physical help. It is truly heartbreaking having to not help them because we don't have money for them and they don't want to address their spiritual needs. Some people just want to talk and vent about stuff but then when we try to offer the gospel, they turn us down. 

This week was super busy but next week I will be sure to set aside many hours to make sure I can communicate with everyone. I love all of you and I will see you next week.

Sincerely,

Elder Robertson

Pondering Week June 3, 2019

Hello! 

So, this week has been really chaotic but it's been a good time so think about everything I'm doing right now. 

There have been a lot of very interesting questions about everything that we do, both as missionaries and as church members. The thing is that there needs to be a balance when doing this because if you focus only on questions, you will get lost and worry about the unknown too much. on the other hand, if you think that you have learned everything, you wont be able to answer every question that comes up no matter how much you know. Its like walking on a tight rope and one side is the knowledge one already has and the other is questions one has. Only when you find that balance are you able to gain knowledge, especially spiritual knowledge. I've felt the extreme of both and you can't do that, especially as a missionary. 

We have met a lot of new people this week and they have a very genuine interest. We have a lot of people in our teaching pool( people that made a lot of progress) but we think that some people are loosing interest so sadly we might have to stop teaching them. We really don't want to but we only have a certain amount of time to teach and we need to make sure people are making progress. We are here to get people to the temple and they can't get there without change!

The weather has been getting hotter this week so that has been fun with biking around. I actually broke my bike and I've been riding a full suspension bike from the 90's. The back axle broke in half so I don't really know how long that has been broken for. The rod also bent and a spoke spoke broke and the gear shiftier (not sure what its called) broke too. I was just riding and shifting the gears down and the chain got stuck between the gear and the wheel again. I'm annoyed because of how many times that has happened so I will see how I can fix that. 

I heard that my cousin, Nate, got his mission call to Mesa, Arizona!That is awesome! I'm so grateful for his example despite him being younger than me. The mission field will greatly benefit from having a diligent servant. If all missionaries were like him right now, there would be three times as many members! Go tear up that area Nate! 

I haven't really spoken much about my companion yet so I will now. Elder Cheney is a tall, handsome and very athletic person. He did like four different sports before coming out and even then he was working out until midnight. He loves cars and can point out just about every model there is. He's very set on being a pilot but he's not sure what rout he wants to take. He is a very hard working missionary and I'm grateful to be serving with him. We have also noticed that we are able to teach very well together with bouncing off one another and asking good questions that help people answer their own questions.  

I hope everyone has a awesome week and enjoys the end of school!

Sincerely, 

Elder Robertson

Technology!! May 27, 2019

Note, I received three pictures, with nothing else. It seems Paul had written a long email, including this explanation about the pictures, but it seems to have been lost somehow.

I honestly thought I sent the words but I guess my phone was glitching somehow. 

So, the first one is of my foot after I had two warts cut out of my foot on Preparation day. I had tried to get rid of it many times but he said that they had to be cut out because it had penetrated all three layers of skin. The hole is about the size of a dime and has been healing really well. It was cool because after the doctor was done cutting them out, he used electricity to cauterize it! It was so cool! It was weird because it seemed like my foot was being welded and it even had the smoke and everything, just no hood needed. I've been on crutches this last week and it was very humbling. I should be fine after this next week.

The next picture is of me and my last companion's tags on the last day we were together. It was fun being with him and I hope that he gets along well with his new companion. 

The last picture is of a car from 1930 and has been restored. it was so cool to be in it and the member took us to get these really nice doughnuts. He was a bit older,but he was doing fairly well. We did give him a blessing to help him with his cancer and that he will be comforted by Jesus Christ with the Infinite Atonement. That's what I love about the Atonement too, it covers so many things that are unfair in this life and makes it so we can be happy no matter what situation we are in. 

I did get to go to the zoo today,but my phone was dead so that was a bummer. I'll get the pictures latter but it was amazing. I hope everyone has a great week and I'll be sure to tell more next week!

Sincerely,

Elder Robertson

In what universe is Fresno better than Paris? May 13, 2019

Mine, because I'm getting transferred there! I'll be serving with Elder Cheney. From what I hear he's awesome! I'm really going to miss Turlock though. So many things have happened here since I've arrived and I hope that the people are taken care of. Elder Yancey is definitely capable so I don't have to worry about that. I'm really going to miss the ward too. There's a lot of awesome members that I hope to visit again sometime soon. 

This week has been super crazy for so many reasons. We've been working with some less actives as of late and have come to find that many aren't really less active. Its weird how similar the stories are. A lot of great people have to end up taking care of their mom's and dealing with marriage problems. It's really sad but I know the Lord will forge them into who they need to become.

We ended up doing a lot of service for a member. She was moving from one small room in the house to the garage. She had a few big things moved like the bookshelf, the fridge, and the cabinets. I had to figure out how to disassemble the Samsung fridge. I got the door off on one side but then the other one had a ton of wires and water hoses. I didn't know if I could take them apart or if it was permanent. We ended up having to wheel the gigantic fridge through the backyard and to the garage. It was ok for the most part but the side of the house had a lot of holes and big rocks. It was still awesome though. We'll be helping some of her friends because of that service. We didn't even know we would have that opportunity to teach so many! They all speak Philippineno though so we will heed the member there with us. It'll be a great time though!

We went on a team up with a member as well, Brother S. Let's just say that he LOVES his deep doctrine. He's extremely energetic when it comes to the gospel. It's really cool to see. I learned a bit from him but he also just needs to dial it back a bit. I love him but if he were to do that then he'd probably be the perfect missionary. 

We also saw Bob and Alice this week but they were busy. In the few seconds we talked we found out that he was studying Come Follow Me! He's also doing a lot of reading in the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine & Covenants. I really hope that the Spirit helps him learn. I know Elder Yancey will definitely keep helping him a lot though. 

I really hope that this week was a great one and this next week Will be an amazing one!

Sincerely, 

Elder Robertson 

Paul liked this Castle that he lived near in Turlock

Mission Conference!!! May 6, 2019

Minnsion conference was this week! For those who don't know, it is a once in a mission meeting where all the missionaries from all the zones get together and meet. It was on Saturday. One of the Twelve Apostles were there! It wasQuintin L Cook ! It was awesome. I got to shake his hand as well! I had the CTR ring that my Mom and Dad gave me before I went out on my mission and the Robertson tie that my Father gave me. He said a lot of Sacred things that simply confirmed to me that this is the True Church. This means that I have seen 3 of the 12 apostles, other than general conference of course. Dieter F. Uchtdorf at the cultural calibration for the Fort Collins Temple, David A. Bednar at the MTC, and now Quentin L. Cook here. 

This week we also had Zone conference. President Mackay helped us realize what we could be doing better as a mission but also the fact that we are doing extremely well. In the last few months we have almost doubled the amount of people found, going to sacrament meeting and people with baptismal dates. We just need to get them in the water to be baptized and confirmed after. We also need to talk to people based on their needs which is something I've been striving to do. Sharing the gospel isn't about checking off all the lessons one at a time until they're over. Everyone has needs that the gospel can heal, but they won't want to listen to more if you're just reciting what the first lesson is. Like if someone you know is struggling with the loss of a family member, telling them about the Great apostasy won't help them. It applies to all of us though. I know that after my mission ends that I will not stop to share the gospel. That will be apart of my being no matter what. I have a lot of growing to do, but I have grown a lot since being here.

I was able to meet with Elder Settle for a brief minute and it was great! I can't believe it's already been 4 weeks since I've seen him! I miss him so much, but I know he's going great work and that the Lord needs him elsewhere. I also got to talk to Elder Hair, one of my MTC companions. He said that when we were in the MTC playing some intense 4-square that he broke the arch in his foot! He'll probably be going home to have surgery but he will be out soon after. He is such a fantastic Elder. I really hope to see him again soon.

This week was super busy as well! We met and taught a lot more people. We were able to meet with Jose a lot this week as he went though a lot of hard times but he's getting better. We've worked with him a lot and we know it will help him.

Everyone else is basically exceedingly busy or not interested. We've been working harder though and we have been going but the spirit and we've been giving great opportunities to accept the gospel and that's all we can ask for. 

We had a lot of great meetings with the Members this week, especially on Sunday. We're gaining more trust and they are helping welcome all of the friends we bring into church. We were able to get Albert, a returning member that went less active soon after baptism, a come follow me manual.  He loves it and we've been helping him a lot lately. We also gave one to Bob because he was there at church for both hours this time! It's a slow process but we're working with him. His wife, Alice, wants to become a member but is afraid of what will happen because of her marriage. That's what we're here for! I know it seems odd but we have pondered it and we are acting on the answer we got.

I hope that everyone has an awesome week and enjoys as many blessings as possible! Sorry, no pictures this week...

Sincerely, 

Elder Robertson

Monday April 29, 2019

This week has been crazy! Everyone is busy or having some emargency happening. The weather has been really nice and calm here though. 

So, the situation with N is that her mom was arrested and she's going to jail. We won't be able to teach N anymore but we're praying that things work out for he and her family. A lot of others have been busy still so we haven't been able to see them. 

We did meet a member that hasn't been in a while but he wants to come back and he came to church on Sunday! He is an ex-marine who left because he was disabled. He's got some mental problems but he's got a good heart and is willing to work hard. He's awesome!

We did meet with Bob and Alice this week and they seem a little more interested. We got talking about church services and ours seems to be drastically different. I didn't really realize that until now. Honestly it sounds kinda fun for some of them. I still enjoy our Sunday meetings a lot more because of the spirit there and because the power of the sacrament. Before I honestly didn't know why we took the sacrament or what it did to help us even though people told me plenty of times. It holds a special place in my heart because of the importance of it. I had to learn it for myself but it was worth it. 

I'm so happy for this gospel and for the infinite love that our Heavenly Father has for us. I've been pondering this week as well of why we call him father. Of all the titles he posses, I think that Heavenly Father is my favorite. I look forward to seeing him again after this long life to experience a complete sense of joy! I love everyone has a great week.

I'll work on getting pictures this week, sorry.

Sincerely, 

Elder Robertson 

Happy Easter Indeed! Monday April 22, 2019

These past few weeks have been crazy! Elder Yancey and I have been working our tails off just to keep up with the work we've got. The family situations we've run into are just so weird.

So, we've been trying to meet with Jose for a few weeks now and we found out he got a new phone but that he's also been really busy with family medical emergencies... So first a few weeks ago his mother was put into the hospital to battle cancer and then the next week his son was holding a fire cracker and it blew up in his hand! He's missing a finger now but he should be ok. Then the next week we found out that his mom that was battling cancer passed away. We have been praying for him and we hope we will be able to meet with him more often. 

We had another situation go down with someone else we're teaching. So, N is 11 and wants to be baptized but we haven't been able to meet with her for months. We had some awesome members offer to give her a sleepover and get the lessons done. Her mother, A, is a recent concert and has allowed her to take the lessons but she's been busy all day every day. When we had another member, Juliana go over to pick up Nyema, she said it was so bad that she took all of the kids from A. I don't want to say what it was because I'm not sure but the family is going through a lot right now. We hope to help the family but we don't know how right now. 

Everyone else is either not responding to our texts or is dealing with a family medical emergency. It's been really tough to teach right now. We also seem to be finding all of the people that are disabled. I really want to help them but because of accidents or something we won't be able to. Either that or I don't know what to do. 

The wind has also been really strong here and it's getting really hot really quick so guess who's finally losing weight! I've dropped a few pounds so that's really good. My allergies have been pretty bad though. I'm working through it though. 

So this week our members gave us lbs chocolate rabbits! And my companion doesn't want his so I don't know what to do with it. I guess I just have chocolate that will last a good month. 

We finally had someone come to church! His name is Bob and he's Lutheran. He's very strong in his faith but he agreed to go to church for his wife. She's not a member but she's been investigating the church for 33 years! She wants to know everything about before joining. She's the most dedicated learner I've ever seen. She's also got a photographic memory so that helps her a lot. 

Its awesome to be tested everyday in the ways I am. I can feel myself improving and becoming who I need to be. The progress is slow but I'm getting better at so many things and learning my weaknesses and it's just been awesome. I have a solid testimony that Jesus is the Christ, the beloved Son of God. I know that he loves everyone including me and it doesn't matter how many times to mess up if you repent. His atonement is infinite so do not hesitate to ask for help. The best ways I have seen it take effect are through the small and simple things. I know this because if we are not willing to do the small promptings and things that we are commanded to do then why would we be able to be doing the big, significant things? 

Sincerely, 

Elder Robertson 

My bike is the black one and its name is Starflight.

My companion, the rabbit and I