Date
January 9, 2017
Area
Guadalupe, San Fernando
Companion
Elder Coppiano
Six Baptismal Dates
Hi, everyone.
Here’s an update on how my week has gone. We have about 6 people with baptism dates, two of which I’ve been particularly excited about and they are two youth named Benjamin, 17, and Melany, 19. Both of them have been progressing and have testimonies of the gospel so we started planning their baptisms details like the time, who will speak, and who will be baptizing. As soon as we asked Melany those questions, she said she wanted me to baptize her!! I was so dang happy, oh my gosh! So her baptism will be the 28th this month. My comp will confirm her and I will baptize her. Seriously, I’m so excited. Then Benjamin was finally able to get us the form from his parents saying he was permission to be baptized. So as soon as we got that we started helping plan the baptism for the 21st of this month. Benjamin is kind of shy and timid guy (completely the opposite of Melany) and so when we asked who he would like to baptize him he acted real unsure and nervous. So I then told him don’t stress out about it, pray and ponder about it and you’ll receive an answer. Then come Sunday he was talking to a member and she asked who was going to baptize him and he looked at me and asked if I would do it. I was so SURPRISED AND HAPPY!!!! This is honestly such an honor. My mind was blown and heart full. I love those two so much, and I’m so happy to be a part of his/her conversion and helping them to follow Christ. It feels unreal to me honestly, so exciting! J
Also another thing happened this week. Chile is known to speak faster than anywhere else, shorten their words, and just change their Spanish. They don’t even consider it Spanish. LOL. So it’s super hard to understand and takes time for missionaries to speak like them. Latinos never change and few greengos (non-foreign speakers) are able to speak like them. Most of the time Chileans don’t understand Chileans. LOL. But what was funny was that in our companionship inventory my companion who is from Ecuador said basically I need to chill with my Spanish as I speak too fast now, I speak too Chileano. That’s why occasionally people don’t understand. I was cracking up when he told me that. I’ve become a Chilean in that aspect I SUPPOSE! It’s kind of cool seeing the progress in the language, and I know it’s because of God. He’s helped me out a ton. Without Him, I’d still be how I was sophomore year with Spanish: HORRIBLE. Just a small, well huge actually, miracle I’ve seen in my life.
Also this week I went on splits with the zone leaders. I went to their sector which is pretty much the ghetto here. As we were walking around, we saw some bad stuff, not going to lie. But what was incredible is that I felt safe. I felt safe in a place I would never have thought to visit before. It’s incredible because before the mission I would have been scared to walk around there let alone talk to people, but I felt peace in my heart. I was comforted. I talked about that with the zone leader and he said he feels that every single day. Feelings such as that strengthen my testimony as a representative of Christ. Not only my testimony but also I feel Him giving me energy throughout the day which is also another huge blessing because every night I lay in bed exhausted both physically and spiritually. Occasionally sick to my stomach with blisters on blisters, you’d think I’d just run two marathons and hiked the Grand Canyon. I kid you not. Every time I pray and ask for help, I revive without fail. I feel sick to my stomach after lunch? He gives me strength and the pain goes away during a lesson or contact. Whenever I get out and work I literally just feel better despite the heat. Kind of incredible!
Also another miracle this week: Wednesday we found out that President Harris (the mission president) was extremely sick. They thought it was a heart attack at first. Half of his face couldn’t move and he was stuck in bed. And knowing him, that’s completely out of character. He is as healthy as an 18 year old, and probably more active. So that news caught me off guard to say the least. We had a mission fast and invited people to pray for him in addition to all the missionaries. Fast forward to Sunday: I’m on the phone with the assistant, and I asked how President Harris is doing. He is quiet for a moment and then say it’s a miracle honestly. He’s back to being our president and working just like before. He’s got an eye patch (I think that’s what they said in Spanish, LOL) but he’s working hard if not harder than before and feeling fine. Once again, incredible!
I could go on and on about the miracles, small and large, I see as a missionary. All I can say is simply that Christ lives. I see His hand daily. There’s no other explanation besides that He lives. I am honored and humbled at the fact that I can serve as His missionary. He is my Savior, the world’s shepherd constantly searching for the lost lamb. He lives and I can’t say that enough. He’s our older brother. He loves and cares deeply about you. If he didn’t he wouldn’t have bore the cross. He did that so we could live with Him in joy and happiness. He loves you. Turn to Him if and when you need strength, comfort, and counsel. I can’t say it enough- He is there. Trust in Him. I love you all and miss you. Have a fantastic week!
Con amor,
Elder Robinson
P.S. Some members here tole me they think I look like a guy from Glee and a Mexican singer. Crazy- LOL!