February 26, 2018 - Sweet Week with an Interesting Day!

This last Tuesday we had Zone Conference. It was my first actual Zone Conference because the one last transfer was a talent show. Zone Conferences are sweet! It's a time where all of the missionaries get together and learn! Our Mission President and some of his assistants do a bunch of training. So much to learn from those zone conferences. This whole last week it has been pretty cold and rainy but it makes things more fun! A member in my ward told me that for every time you go out and work in the rain while on your mission your wife gets hotter. So maybe I ought to go out in the rain more haha. Yesterday (Sunday) was a very interesting day but it was one of the best days. For church it was Stake Conference. The heat was out in our building so everybody was bundled up in blankets but we never got the memo about that. But the Stake Conference broadcast went out and so it turned into a testimony meeting with about 4 wards there. It was so awesome and I learned so much from lots of the stories told. Elder Ward told me I should get up but they cut people off and ended it earlier. There was a line for people wanting to bear their testimonies. Maybe one day I'll get up there....

We had a great meeting with two of our investigators, Heather and her dad Ron. Hopefully both of them will be on date to be baptized soon! Some more of our investigators Skip and Jina have been doing so awesome this past week. Jina is already a member and Skip should have a baptismal date later tonight and a wedding date too for them! The Gospel of Jesus Christ had been changing their lives! Then we had a lesson with a new investigator named Charlie. (Met him outside of his house.  He's a super cool guy!) He is amazing and has such a strong faith in Christ. He loves meeting with us and we love meeting with him. Last night we put him on baptismal date for March 24th! So excited! The kids I baptized a couple of weeks ago have been doing amazing and are loving church even when it's freezing cold in there. Their parents are making progress. The dad will have a baptismal date set tonight and hopefully mom is soon to follow! (The parents have told us the impact that we have had on their lives and I have seen the change in all of them!)

This next Saturday we get transfer calls. I'm hoping I don't leave because I love the people here but I'll go where the Lord wants me too. I absolutely love it here in Oregon. It’s so beautiful. Even though some of the people are rude, the one who are nice to you are the ones I’ll remember in the end Sorry I don't have any pictures from this last week. 

Love you all! 
-Elder Robbins

Other info from Tyler:)

• Our ward is one of the best wards:) They spoil us with a ton of food and we have dinners every night. I've been very blessed to have this as my fist area. Brother  Graham, the ward mission leader has taught me so much since I've been here. It's going to be hard once I have to leave but I know that the Lord will put me where he needs me. 
• I've learned so much this past transfer and I think I'm starting to figure out how this missionary thing works lol.
• I've realized this last week that you are always going to have and impact on other people. You are always being watched.
• I always heard that while your on your mission you'll be tired for 2 years straight and I think it's true...
• I hope I don't get transferred because Elder Ward and I have been getting along really well but President Tateoka likes to move missionaries around a lot. He's an amazingly smart guy though so he's got it figured out! haha.
• I've got a lot more confident since I've been out here. Not in a cocky way but I have more trust in myself that I can accomplish the things that I need to do.
• Through God's help we can overcome obstacles sooner. I have seen this first hand. When our investigators are doing the things they need to (church read and pray) their attitudes are completely different they treat each other differently and just how they look and act is so much better. It really does make an impact. 
• Everybody has a lot to improve on. One thing I've realized while I've been out here is that Christ could have just come and performed the atonement and then left but he was here for 30 something years and met people and made an impact on them. He was baptized and did many other things. He set the example for us and that is what he has been trying to make us into. 
• I don't remember any of the testimonies from yesterday but one got me thinking about a boy scout trip I took up to Yellowstone a couple of years ago. the stories goes like this and I'm sorry if it's long but I promise I have a reason for telling you it!

So I believe I was 14 years old and we went to Yellowstone for this boy scout trip (Steve was also on this trip). And I remember it was July 19-24th because we were there over my birthday. Basically what happens is we go to this lake and our plan is to canoe across this lake up a river a couple of miles and then half way across another lake and then we are going to camp at the upper lake. Now remember we are all a bunch of 14 and 15 year old boys, so we are kind of crazy. But we head out across this lake and we get out about half way and we notice that these two boys were struggling to paddle and keep up. So the leaders split me and my buddy and one of us went in their canoe and one of those boys came over in my canoe. Now this was difficult because we were still on the water and canoes aren't very stable. We almost dumped it but we didn't. So we head across the lake again and my new partner sucks at paddling... I was getting so frustrated with him because I was doing all the work and he would just sit there most of the time. Then we got to the river and we had to paddle up it until we couldn't anymore then we had to get out and walk a couple of miles up the river pulling our canoes and the water was cold but it was so fun! Then we made it to our camp site. On our way back after a couple of days it was easy to go down the river and it was so fun! But when we got to the lower lake there were huge waves everywhere that would just come over the front of the canoe and eventually would have sank us. So it forced us to pull over and we were sitting there for a while and then we had the idea to say a prayer. So 14 boys and leaders all got in a circle freezing cold and said a prayer. We waited a little longer, then we went on our way. The waves hadn't got any better but we went anyways. We had the idea to stay close to the bank and just go quickly. As we were going about half way across, the wind started to die down and the waves weren't wanting to kill us anymore. Then near the end the wind ended up pushing us and we made it back safely.

I could tell the story much better in person but the moral of that storiy is that the blessings don't come until after the trial of our faith. We could have waited on that bank all day and night but nothing would have changed. But because we trusted that God would protect us, we went on our way with that faith and hope that he would deliver. So remember whenever you are going through a hard time and wondering why isn't the Lord doing what you have asked of him see where your faith in him doing it lies. I remember Brother Jolley in the MTC saying to have "stupid faith" or "stupid hope". And I absolutely love it. Because Christ has always worked by faith. Whenever he is about to heal someone, he asks if they have faith to be healed. God works through faith still. God is the same yesterday today and forever. So always have "stupid faith"!