6/25/2012

So, it's official! I'm saying sienara to my one and only area that I've served in so far! It's kind of interesting thinking about the contrast between when I got here in this area, and what it has become, because literally there was 0 investigators, 0 records from the last 6 months, the ward was not open to the missionaries, and we were brand new with no idea where any one or anything was. Now, there has been a consistant 15 to 18 investigators, record book is full to the brim, and the ward has learned to love us and works hard to help us. My grandpa pointed out that he was worried I may not see the fruit of my labors...I see them. The harvest started a long time ago, and continues on. This area is a great area now. We've had more baptisms in my time here, in this area, then this area had all year last year. It's awesome to see the success and to see the change, but I've fulfilled my work here, and have a new duty. 

So I guess everyone is wondering where I'm going. They have called me to be a District Leader Follow-Up Trainer in Mexico; so today, I will be packing my bags and preparing for a very long trip. You are probably wondering why I'm being sent to Mexico...Well don't worry; Where I'm going, I don't need a passport, nor do I need to learn Spanish, because it is Mexico, Missouri, which coincidently is only 20 miles away from Paris....Paris, Missouri that is :)

From what I know, it is a small town(11,000 people) just north of Columbia. It is in the Columbia stake(Zone). I'm not sure how many areas are in my District, but it seems that it will probably include the Fulton Ward, and maybe one of the Colombia wards(there are 5 wards in Columbia). The zone is pretty big, but unlike the Cape zone, other missionaries are not extremely far away(we are an hour away from the closest set of missionaries in this area), and I can only assume that Zone P-Day and District Meetings will be a little more convenient. In comparison, based on LDS.org's maps, the area is much, much smaller. It'll be interesting to go through that transition.

Other big news, Letecia is on a great path! She is 2 weeks from her baptism and has done a great job at keeping her commitments! I expect to hear from Elder Elkington that she got baptized :) We are teaching her again on Tuesday. Also, Sylvia, the lady that just showed up for church, is doing awesome! We've taught her 2 lessons already and she has been recognizing things in the Bible that support the doctrines we have been teaching, which were different and big concerns of hers the first time we taught her. She came to church, and brought 2 of her 3 children, even though she told us earlier that she wouldn't do that until she started to feel that she was learning the things of God. It's awesome, and I know that if she continues on the path that she's on, she will be ready to be baptized very soon! I'm super excited for her.

We have been out of the area a lot of the week. We went to the Temple on Friday, after a meeting in St Louis for trainers(Elder Elkington is training next transfer). It was a 3 hour car ride to St. Louis because we drove to Farmington and Farmington drove to St. Louis. It is terrible to spend a whole day in the car pretty much, but I guess it's the sacrifice you have to make. The temple was way cool and I received a lot of important revelation there! 

We did have an interesting lesson on Saturday. It was a girl who is a friend of a Less-Active member who has shown some interest in the church. She invited us over for dinner, so we went over and found that there is 5 women living there with like 300 children!! We had a priest with us who is preparing to go on a mission, and we were a little worried about it, when we found this out. Well, they began to ask questions and very quickly, it became an amazing teaching experience. The priest has gone with us a lot, but he said this was the most spiritual and amazing teaching experience he has ever been on with the missionaries. It was very cool, especially when our expectations were a little scattered at the beginning. All I can say, is sometimes all it takes is faith and you will and can make a wonderful difference in others lives. Hopefully great things come from the seeds we planted there :)

I'm super excited for my new adventure! I don't know if I will have the amount of time to email like I do now, but I look forward to sharing new things of my new area next week! Stay safe! I love you all! Keep up the hard work and keep the Lord close in your work! Until next week!

Love Elder Tyler Robinson

 This is how I know the Chiggers are out this year....and yes they itch like crazy!!!!!