July 21, 2014 ~ Petergof!

I love being back in Petergof!!  It is so awesome!!  Although we had a really slow week, everyone in the whole area just decided that they were not going to answer our phone calls this week, so all the meetings that we were hoping to have, didn't happen.  But hopefully we'll get them this week!  Apparently we have a few investigators, but I have never seen them before. 

 

I am really having a hard time cause I can't decide which ward of my past 3 is the best cause they really all are.  We had a picnic on Saturday and it was so fun!  The  people in this ward, espcially our Cuban branch President, are so hilarious and fun!  It started raining, but that didn't stop our fun.  We played this awesome game that I stole from the kolpino picnic and everyone thought it was the best ever. 

Then yesterday I finally got to be in church again with them.  It was a little sad at the beginning cause I was used to like 50-60 people in church and when we started the meeting there were 4 members... and 2 came late.  But it was nevertheless one of the best sacrament meetings ever.  Cause I got to speak!  Haha that was totally a joke, I really don't love to speak that much, but yesterday was great.  In felt the spirit so strong as I was testifying and just saying what I was feeling and what the Holy ghost told me and not so much focusing on what I had prepared.  For me, it was a powerful experience.

In case you were all wondering, the topic was testimony.  I gave them all 4 ideas of things that you should do so that your testimony never fades.  I have probably told you all these things a million times before, but I am so convinced that it works that I am going to repeat them again.

1) Pray every day (preferably several times a day AND with a sincere heart)

2) Read the scriptures, especially Book of Mormon EVERY DAY.  I know some of you aren't doing this probably cause I didn't before my mission, so put your excuses away and just do it!  Most likely in your prayers you are asking for things that He has already given an answer to.  You just have to find it, cause He might not waste time repeating something He's already told you.

3) Go to all church meetings every week (and not just cause you have to or it's a habit).  And not just sacrament meeting.  And not just the first 2 hours, but all 3 hours.  They are all important and I'm sure the blessings for keeping this commandment come in 3rd's and you recieve the amount you attend.  Plus a bonus if you attend all 3 with a willing heart!

4) Weekly family home evening.  It does not have to be only on Monday so get that out of your head.  It can be whatever day works best for your family, but it had better be in the plans ever week.

Well that's that.  I am super excited about this week!  It's going to be so great, I seriously cannot get over the fact that I am back in Petergof.  It just makes me happy!  All the branch members here are so special, I can't wait to see what is going to happen in the next few weeks!

Elder Robison

July 14, 2014 ~ Summer in Russia

Hello from Pushkin again!(surprise haha)

Yes, I did move back to Petergof, but we somehow ended up back in Pushkin for pday again.  There are about a billion Americans here today, haha.  

Petergof is great, I am so happy to be back! We went to stop by and see some of my favorite members the first few days although we haven't really been there that much.  We got there wednesday night, then thursday we were gone all day (I had my last visa trip - that's a scary thought).  Then friday we had a great day and met a few really cool people.  And apparently we have a few investigators in petergof, which is always really nice hahah.  Then on saturday I came back to pushkin to be here for my special assigment in kolpino yesterday.  And we just decided we were going to stay in pushkin and be here for pday too. 

So about yesterday.  I thought it actually went pretty well.  I gave the lesson during 3rd hour and we talked more about PMG and working with less actives and then we did role plays with them and a discussion about it and stuff.  I really liked it.  But there was a surpirse cause obviously since it was requested that I still be here for another sunday to do the lesson, they had to ask permission from the mission president and surprise, he showed up yesterday to our ward to watch me do this lesson.  And actually it was a double surprise cause the Stake president also decided that yesterday would be a perfect day to show up to the kolpino ward.. great.  It was pretty stressful, but also good cause he gave some really input during the discussion.  Acutally what he said was the most educated and normal sounding response that anyone gave.  Also he gave a killer talk during sacrament meeting!  He is so great!

Then after church one of the members invited all the missionaries and presidnet and sister childs to dinner at her place and that was really great.

My birthday was good.  It was transfer day haha.  There were I think like 9 or 10 sisters that went home and 3 elders.  They gave some of the most powerful testimonies I have ever heard.  It was so great and the spirit was so strong!  It was one of the best transfer meetings that I've ever been too.  

This week was pretty crazy, but so great!  Being a missionary is so fun.  I wish that I could really express to everyone how important the gospel is and how they should really take it seriously.  I'm thinking of a meeting that we had with a less active last night who is really frustrating.  He talks really nice and gives all the right answers, but his actions don't match.  Don't be those kind of people!!

Also this week I have been finding a blossoming love for the old testament as I have been reading it for personal study and just finding some really great things.  Also an ever increasing love for the BOM.  Everytime I read it I just find more and more and I really love that book.  It has ALL the answers!  Read it!  Everyday! 

Have a great week!

Elder Robison

JULY 7, 2014 ~ Sometimes Change is GREAT!!!

Well you might have guessed, but transfers are this week and you will never guess what is happeneing to me!  I get to go back to petergof!!!!! I am so excited!! And I will be with Elder Noorda who was in im MTC district!!  I am so excited!  But I am really sad to be leaving Kolpino, the members here are so great.  

Speaking of that, yesterday was probably one of the best testimony meetings I have ever been to.  It was so good! They were all actual testimonies and not life stories and it was really powerful.  I actually thought I wasn't going to have time to get up cause people would jump out of their seats every single time whenever the person speaking said Amen.  It was great.

Also we had been planning this big lesson to go with this program that we have been trying to start and I was supposed to do the lesson on the 3rd hour next sunday, but thought that wasn't going to be happeing since I am getting transfered and won't be there.  So I thought It was all going to be up to my poor companion who is getting a brand new missionary and this sunday would be his very first in Russia.  But during 2nd hour I got a call from the assistants who told be that I would be going on a split Sunday and will be in kolpino.   The guy in the ward who we have been doing this whole thing with (also happens to work in the mission office) called the assistants and told them that it was absolutely necessary that I am in kolpino next sunday.  So they asked the mission president and he gave approval!  So it will be really weird next week haha, everyone thinks that I'm gone but I'll be in church here next week.  And I hope the lesson goes well.

Today we went to the katherine's palace which was cool.  We saw to american couples (members) who were on a tour with the stake presidency second counselor here.  (He is a tourguide).  That was cool.  Apparently they have been in a lot of other cities travelling Europe and have been on the look out for missionaries, and they finally found some today haha.  

Also we had a great week!   Some pretty cool lessons.  I am sad to be leaving here, but so happy to be going back "home"!  

Have a great week!
Elder Robison

June 30, 2014 ~ Where is summer?

I guess it shouldn't really come as a surprise to anyone, but it is really cold here. And really really rainy.  We've been in like coats the past few weeks (that's suit coat plus another coat).  And it's rained everyday for weeks.  However this is more of a halleluja than a complaint, thinking of how last summer was so hot and we would come in after contacting and be drenched.  I enjoy this weather a lot!  

This week was pretty good.  We have been working to start kind of a new program with the members to study PMG.  I'm sorry I can't remember what I wrote last week so if anything is a repeat, just bear with it haha.  So anyways, we have been trying to put together this program where we work with the members to have them start studying preach my gospel and be more involved in missionary work here.  And yesterday was like the big kick off.  It was 5th sunday which means a combined 3rd hour and My companion and I were in charge of the lesson.  I was super stressed all week about it cause I had to kinda have the main role and some of my relatives (dad and pappa walker) have been kind enough to let their worry habbits wear off on me and I didn't really know how we were going to fill the whole time and I wanted the lesson to be exciting so they wouldn't be bored the whole time, PLUS of course it all had to be in russian (however that is becoming less and less of a problem luckily).  Anyway I think it went pretty well.  The first half was boring I know, but there was no other way around it.  But the second half was awesome and I think they really enjoyed it.  We did with them role-plays visiting less actives.  We had picked 2 members and told them before hand what to do and the first time they gave an example of what not to do, then the audience critiqued them and told them what needs to change and then the did a good example.  It was really great!! We are planning on also doing lessons on Elders quorom and also relief society in the next few weeks to give them all practice with it.  And we are going to be visiting the families and giving them the lessons and helping them practice them.  Then we have a list of specific less actives that we are going to work with with these families and it is going to be so great!  I feel like I probbably say this every week but the members here are really so awesome!!  I love them so much!  We've been trying to work with them a lot more because we have like 1 investigator and she is giving us some issues and we have been majorly struggling to find any new investigators.  We had a handful of potentials but so far we haven't been able to meet with any of them..

Also we had a zone training this week and I really liked a part of it. In our mission we seem to have trouble getting people to commit to doing things and so they taught us out of Luke chapter 5 verses 1-10 saying that this was like the saviours pattern of getting people to commit to things (investigators).  I really enjoyed it so much, there was a really really powerful spirit there.  It was so great.  Christ really is the master example in everything!  How grateful we should all be for the scriptures that we have to study from DAILY!  It's a blessing.

Have a great week!

Elder Robison

June 23, 2014 ~ A rainy week!

This week I got my new companion.  He had some problems with his visa so he was in latvia for 3 weeks.  He's pretty cool, a hard worker so I'm happy about that.  

We had a pretty good week.  Lots of cool things.  I'll start with the most exciting. We have the best members ever!!  On saturday we had a ward picnic and it was so fun!  One of the guys in the ward had thought up these super fun competitions and it was a blast!  Despite the fact that it was so cold and a little bit rainy.  This is the Russia I was half excpecting.  All week this week and most of last it's been really cold and rain almost everyday.  But I like it.

Also with one of the ward members who used to be the branch president we kind of came up with a new plan on how to get the ward more involved in missionary work.  We don't have like hardly any investigators and any that we do have are not super good ones, so I've really been thinking about how we can strengthen the ward here and get the members more excited about missionary work which we hope will lead to them feeling more confident about sharing the gospel with their friends and family.  Also we have a new ward mission leader who is awesome and he also proposed something yesterday on ward council that goes right along perfectly with what I was hoping to do.  Hopefully things will start picking up soon.

Also this week we had a pretty scary excperience.  The pushkin elders gave us a referral and so we called and he invited us over to his house the next day.  I asked the elders what they knew about him and he said that the guy mentioned that in his time in the army or whatever, they trained him how to kill americans... great.  So we called Alex and had him come with us.  We show up to his appartment (I've never seen him in my life and have no idea what to expect) and we stand there and ring the door bell and he doesn't answer. Then I called him thinking maybe he forgot and he was like, "is that you standing by the door?"  anyway, he let us in, and kinda shoved us in actually pretty quickly.  His appartment was really dirty and hazy inside from all the smoke and I see this other guy in the back with long hair just staring at us.  And then the referral Andrew yells to him, "Hey these are my American friends!" and in my head I was like "oh great" then the next thing they said was we don't open the door for anyone cause you never know who could be standing there.  They could come in and rob you or kill you. All our friends know to call us...  mmhmm.  Then he continued by offering us repeatedly a whole assortment of alcoholic beverages.  The whole thing was just weird and creepy.  Good thing Alex was there with us, haha.  I felt more comfortable.  We found out that they are Jewish and are  not the least bit interested in knowing about our church.  Why we met with them I'm not entirely sure and the strangest part is that he is the one who came up to the missionaries on the street and told them to write down his phone number.  I really have now idea what he wanted from us, but it wasn't to hear about the gospel, haha.  We didn't stay long and got out fine.  For some reason they really really liked us and invited us back again anytime, but I don't think I'll be making another visit anytime soon, haha.

Our only other investigator, who we had a really good meeting with on Thursday, didn't come to chruch and isn't answering the phone for me or her member friend, so we will keep praying and see what happens.

Have a great week!
Elder Robison