August 27, 2018 - New Companion

Hey everybody! It's been another week here in Tillamook. I know I have probably said this a lot but I love living on the coast! It is so pretty here. I got a new companion, my third one here in Tillamook. His name is Elder Hulsey. He is a big gamer but he has such a strong desire to serve the Lord. He's kinda short so I feel like he could be my shadow but it's all good.

The work here is going great and the people are amazing. We have been working with the same people as before and some of them are progressing slowly. That is better than not progressing. Please pray for the people that all the missionaries are working with. All prayers are noticed when doing the Lord’s work and through the faith of all people the work of the Lord progresses on. 

My favorite scripture I came upon this last week was 3 Nephi 27: 

"21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do; 22 Therefore, if ye do these things blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day." 

I think this scripture is very interesting because Jesus Christ tells us two times that whatever we have seen him do that is what we must do. Our ultimate goal in life is to become more like him and come closer to him. Through diligent scripture study and prayer this can be achieved, not in this life but the life after. As we become more like our Savior, we will bless the lives of many and it will bless our life also. What can you do this week to become more like the Savior? 

-Elder Robbins

Elder Nelson (MTC), Elder Ward (2nd comp)

Bye Elder McElmurry

Elder Hulsey

August 20, 2018 - A day to remember

This past week was very eventful. First big thing is that Elder McElmurry is being transferred. I have had a wonderful four and a half months with him. I will be staying here and I am very excited, my new companion will be elder Hulsey. D  The other big thing that happened is we were able to go to the temple with Latasha! It was an amazing experience and the spirit there was so strong. One of my favorite parts was a picture that depicts a scene from the Book of Mormon.

Baptism's with LaTasha

It’s 3 Nephi 17: 23 And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones. 24 And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them. 

I loved this because each and every one of us can be an angel in somebody else life. The hardest thing to give up is time but it is also the best thing that we can give up. When we show God that we are willing to sacrifice to help another one of his children and minister to them, then he will bless us for doing so. God is so good and is so willing to bless us if we only ask.

This has been a great past week though full of success and many blessings. I know God lives and loves every one of us.

-Elder Robbins

Elder & Sister Nielson

Brother & Sister Abbott

Donald

Brother & Sister Lyons

LaTasha

Elder McElmurry's 18th month mark

Reynolds' Family

Brother Tom Hammerstrom Ward Mission Leader

Frogley Family

August 13, 2018 - Spicy Food

Photo from our friend Laura Osmond

This past week has been super busy! on Wednesday we had exchanges. I was with Elder Hinck for the day and I leaned a ton from him. That morning one of the priests from the Tillamook ward came out with us and he seemed to really enjoy it.  We have an investigator that invited us over for dinner, they are from India. they made us some authentic Indian food and it was so hot but so good. At least until they kept on piling more and more on our plate we walked out of there so stuffed. We had quite a few lessons but the one that I loved the most was with a man named terry. He has a very strong faith in Jesus Christ, and he loves to talk… a lot. So we were resolving one of his concerns and by the end of it the spirit was so strong that he didn't have anything to say for his concern. It’s pretty cool how the spirit can tell us when something is true or when it is false.  We had a great lesson with LaTasha and her mom joined in with us! LaTasha has been trying so hard to get Her family to start taking the lessons. her mom and little brothers also came to church on Sunday and absolutely loved it!

I am running really low on time today so I'll share one of my favorite scriptures with you all.

Mosiah 4:11 And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel. 

12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true. 

-Elder Robbins

Exchanges with Elder Hinck

August 6, 2018 - Opposition

One of my favorite quotes I saw this past week was "True disciples of Jesus Christ see opportunity in the midst of opposition" I love this so much. When Adam and Eve fell from the Garden of Eden, they could know right from wrong and through that opposition is how we can learn and grow. When opposition arises in life we shouldn't be scared of it but be excited for what is to come afterwards. Opposition is moments for learning and helping others learn correct principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have had many people oppose my beliefs and what I know to be true. One of the weirdest ones is I had a man try to tell me that Joseph Smith wasn't the founder of the church but that Brigham Young was.

There are many opportunities to grow if you can think of all of the opposition in the world. Mosiah Chapter 18 Verse 21 teaches us how Christ wants this life to be which is not contention or opposition. It says "And he commanded them that there should be no contention one with another, but that they should look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another." If we truly love one another with all our heart, then we can do what Christ wants us to do and be who he wants us to be.

This past week was a great week. We have been doing a lot of finding and also a lot of dropping people. It's always sad when you drop someone but you know that the Lord is preparing someone else for you to find who may be ready to receive the gospel. One of the highlights of the week was that LaTasha went to the Portland Temple Visitor Center and had one of the most wonderful experiences there. The temple is the place where we can feel closest to God and learn more about him. We weren't able to go with LaTasha this time but the next time we will be able to. Other than that, I can't think of anything else huge that happened.

To all of my priests from Lehi 29th ward, I am so excited for everyone of you who have decided to serve a mission and can't wait to hear all about it!

To everybody else, thank you for all of the love and support while I have been on my mission!

Here's a great picture of Elder McElmurry up close and an awesome hike from last week.

 -Elder Robbins