In the real world now!!

Robyn has been out of the MTC for two weeks now! She is still waiting on her visa, so she has not made it to Brazil yet. But, in the mean time, she is serving in New Mexico. She was really excited to be out in the "real world". It started in the mission home where she had pizza with green chilli! Yes! real non MTC food. Then she had her interview with President Batt and the whole time she felt that he kept talking about the reservations. The next morning she met her companion and "I'M GOING TO THE RESERVATIONS!!!". Yep, she was really excited. 

She and her companion, Sister Johnson, live in a trailer and drive a little red truck. And on top of keeping up with her Portuguese, she's now learning Navajo. They meet a lot of shamas (grandmas) who speak only Navajo and she loves meeting investigators and the less active. She's already had some of her first mission "funny" stories. One has to do with eating a lamb and potatoe sandwhich, but getting a mouth of nothing but fat! Another, being mauled by a huge scary dog! That day her and her companion avoided every house with a big dog. They have many opportunities to serve the Navajo people. Because everyone has wood stoves, Robyn and her companion get to cut and deliver wood to them. 

"This past week past week was sooooo glorious!!" First they had a baptism and then Sunday 5 of their less actives went to church! Including one who is her favorite! Robyn is loving her time serving and preaching the gospel on the reservation. She knows it's where the Lord needs her right now. 

                                  

      

     

     

     

Half way there!!

"Woahhhh OHHHH I'm Half way there!!! Woahhhhh ohhhh I'm living on a prayer!!"

But serio, I have 3 more weeks left!! This morning was sorta sad...my beloved companion left for the Brazil MTC! I'm so happy and excited for her!! Anyways once we found out she was leaving us, we tried to match EVERYDAY!!!!! We say it helps us teach better, and I really think it does! We aren't to sad about being separated just because I'll see her once I make it to Brazil! 

So last Tuesday we got the honor to hear from Elder Bednar!! Man was that an experience! I sang in the choir again, and the song we sang was so perfect and really helped invite the spirit! He talked to us about a lot of stuff. But one thing that he said that stuck out to me the most was about faith. We really get to exercise our faith while on a mission. Whether it be with the language or whaterever, your faith is put to the test out here. Elder Bednar said that usually we have to act before the power will come. And man that it so true!! I saw that happen this past week while doing TRC (you teach member volunteers). But Heavenly Father wants to see if you'll have the faith in him to act before he helps you. I love Elder Bednar!!

TRC was a totally different animal! You teach members about gospel topics. The tough thing is you don't know what you're supposed to teach them. You rely all on the Spirit to guide you! In the first lesson...I went blank! I could say anything and poor sister Dickson had to talk! I felt so bad I just wanted to cry right then and there! But then she asked me how my faith in Jesus Christ has grown and I had no choice but to bare my testimony about my whole deciding to go on a mission. On our feede Back (we dont just say feed, we add the e and then it de make the ji sound...funny huh??) He said my testimony really help him! Then right before we went to our second lesson, Sister Dickson looks at me and tells me I have to do all the talking! Well I did...and like Elder Bednar said, "act and the power follows" I had the faith that the Spirit would help me know what to say and the Spirit helped me know what to say and what to teach! So here's how it went: I asked him what his favorite scripture was. He read some scripture I had no clue what he was saying!! But then I asked him what makes him happy?(heres the awesome part, the scripture was 2Nephi 2:25, and I was guided by the spirit to ask him what makes him happy even though I didnt understand when he read). He said his family makes him happy and I asked if all his family members were LDS. He said yes, and then sister dickson asked if they were all active. He had one brother that is inactive. BINGO!!! Sister Dickson and I found the common ground! We all have inactive brother! So I asked him what about the gospel gives him comfort concerning his brother, he said the Atonement. I bore my testimony about the Atonement and how I know that My brother can some day return to Heavenly Father. And Heavenly Father will be so happy when David, my brother, finally returns to the right path. The Spirit was so strong in the room, I loved it! But it just goes to show how you have to fully trust that Heavenly Father will help us know what the person needs to hear!

We also had our last lessons with both investigators, Joao and Silva. We asked Joao if he would get baptized and he said yes, but he wouldn't marry his girlfirnd of 20+ year!!! We tried explaining all the wonderfully blessing he and Pricilla could recieve, but he wouldn't budge! The sad thing is the real Joao still hasn't gotten babptized. Silva on the other had was aweseom!!! We talked to him about the Restoration. He said he feels like he hasn't gotten answers and I told him that sometimes Heavenly Father wants us to exercise our faith and show that we are going to diligently search for an answer, and once we show him that he will answer us. He seemed to like that! But at the end of the lesson we asked him to be paptized and he said YES!! He asked when and I said this Saturday! He laughed and was like "seriously?? this weekend" Sister Dickson said yep, once we finish all the lessons! So the real life Silva got baptized and is a strong member of the church! When Irmao Barlow was teaching him about the law of tithing, Barlow said that silva said that he had already been "paying" his tithing! Silva's mom taught him about it and he put aside 10% every pay check! He is/was GOLDEN!!! that lesson I also had a big break through! I only used my dictionary once!! How awesome!! 

The language is coming along great! I fall asleep every night repeating the 1st vision in portuguese and then I sometimes dream in portuguese too!! haha! I noticed my progress when I worte my talk on sunday and I didn't copy straight out of my Preach my Gospel, I was able to come up with all I wanted to say!! But I know that I am able to learn this language because my Heavenly Father wants me to teach his children in their native language.

I have no doubt that this gospel is the only true source for TRUE happiness. I know that Joseph Smith was called by God to restore His Gospel on this earth. And from that we can see how much God really does love us. We are his children and he would not leave us with out a path to get back to him. I'm so grateful for all the missionaries and for their spirits. If it weren't for the missionaries that found and taught my parents, I wouldn't be here today. This is Heavenly Father's work and I am so blessed to be assisting him.

Amo voces!!!

Sister Perez

                                

                                    

                                 

 

                                 

       

    

                                 

       

      

Week one, week two... Done and done

Robyn just finished up week two at the MTC and so far things have been great! Her first week was filled with getting to know her schedule, new classes, meeting her new companion (Sister Dickson) and teaching their first lesson (in broken Portuguese and mixed Spanish) to their investigator. Her fifth day there she woke up with her whole body aching and the chills. She went through the whole day feeling awful! That night she "literally poured out my heart in a broken Portuguese prayer asking my Heavenly Father to please help me stay healthy". The next day she felt a little and continued through the day with a prayer in her heart for good health. By the end of her first week she was feeling better, her Portuguese was getting better and she's loving every minute of her 

Her second week was filled with a lot more learning and she started to feel the stress of it all. While her companion and her were teaching their investigator the fourth lesson, their investigator asked to be baptized. They were so excited, "it was one of the best feelings ever!!". She gave her first talk in sacrament on Sunday. She wasn't nervous and was glad to get a talk out of he way! She says that she has had a great experience so far her testimony and faith are growing daily. 

      

                     Robyn and her companion after their investigator asked to be baptized

      

                                Robyn (Sister Perez) and some fellow missionaries

     

She loves to receive Dear Elder letters (who wouldn't). It's easy and free to send while she's at the                         MTC, just go to www.dearelder.com

                               

Hello Missionary Training Center (MTC)!!

Hi! Christie (Robyn's older sister) here, I'll be updating her blog and keeping you all informed about her mission while she's gone!

Robyn departed chilly Memphis, TN at 7:30am headed to an even chillier Provo, Utah via Delta Airlines, non-stop! Annie (older sister) and Oliver (nephew) picked her up at the Salt Lake City Airport and headed straight to Walmart to buy a few more essentials. Robyn’s debit card didn’t work, so Annie paid the bill! They then went to grab a quick lunch and headed for the Missionary Training Center (MTC).  They were greeted by a missionary couple who put a post it note on the front windshield, pointed them to an unloading area and told them they had 2.5 minutes to say goodbye and take a picture. She was really excited to finally arrive!   

 

                                  

Sister Missionary Photo Shoot

So I'm just sitting here (attempting to write my farewell talk, but its not happening) when my AWESOME sister-in-law sends me the pictures we took for my "sister missionary photo shoot"! (and the farewell talk goes out the wind!) Once again Lena exceeds all expectations and of course I am in love with ALL of the pictures! It also made me realize that I am seriously about to leave for my 18 month mission...WOAH! Time has seriously flown by, but I am just so ready. Well here are the pictures...and if you want to check out my sister-in-law's other photography here is here blog (You'll love her work, trust me) http://www.photographybylenamarie-blog.com!! Now, time to get back to that farewell talk!

God's Transcending Peace

I have this friend, who I am very close with and confide with him often. His name is Brandon Porter. He was a senior when I was a junior in high school, and we pretty much just came to be good friends, nothing special. Throughout the past few years we've listened to each others sorrows and joys. Sometimes we lose contact, but once one of us picks up the phone and gives the other a call, we pick right back up where we left off. This past Saturday we had another one of those "pick ups". Both of us have grown up and become better versions of ourselves than we were back in high school. I'm not saying that we were bad kids in high school, we just have a better understanding of things now. Right now he is going to school at the University of Memphis, he is also one of the baseball managers. Every so often he types out a spiritual thought and posts it on the baseball locker room's bulletin board, or if he believes it's an important one, he will print 32 copies and stick one in each players' locker. I must say that I really look up to him for that. It takes a lot of courage to share your beliefs, let alone openly talk about it to people you interact with daily. But the fear of being rejected by his peers or being thought as 'too spiritual" doesn't stop him. Porter is a great example to his peers and especially me.

Anyways, when we hung out he gave me two of his spiritual thoughts, and one really stuck out to me. It hit home so hard, I decided to share it.

    "I worry a lot. I stress out a lot. Heck, I would argue that I am probably borderline obsessive compulsive. When something is on my agenda, it takes all my energy and sometimes stresses me out to the point where it affect my mood. If there are obstacles to my pursuit f my daily goals, I am liable to have a quasi-panic attack. Fortunately, there are two things that help me overcome this. One is anxiety meds, the other is Philippians 4. Philippians 4 is a great asset to Christians when life just gets too overbearing.
    Philippians 4:6-7: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Jesus Christ.
    Transcends...what an amazing and powerful word! It literally means that God's peace surpasses anything that is seen as a stress reliever. In this highly volatile world where people are on the go and preoccupied with keep up with the Jones', doesn't it seem silly that we try extreme and puzzling methods to relieve the stresses of life, when really it is as simple as trusting that God's peace can overcome? Now I understand that it is easier said than done, for I am guilty of anxiety on multiple occasions every day. But I have to admit, trying to apply this chapter to my life has had an already positive impact on how I view school, baseball, and all my other responsibilities. So I encourage you to read these powerful words and to put your trust in God whenever life gets rough. For God's peace transcends everything. What is more eloquent than that?"

There isn't much I can say after that...it was powerful enough. It's a good reminder that we need to put everything in God's hands and that we can always go to him when life gets tough. I'm grateful I got this from Porter, because those little reminders, that God's peace transcends everything, are always good to have.

Missionary News is the Best News

  Like every one else out there, you probably have a few friends that are out on their missions. I have 2 super close friends out on their missions right now. Both are actually going to Brazil, but have been reassigned stateside till their visas come in. They've been such a great example to me, constantly reminding me not to worry about getting my visa and if I get reassigned that it is where Heavenly Father needs me at the time.  Mondays have seriously been my favorite day, just because that's when I get to hear from my boys! Here are some snippets of their emails that were just to awesome not to share with everyone!

Here is last weeks email from Elder Carpenter:

"I was sick this week too!! except i have a funny story about it :), so my stomach wasnt feeling the hottest on Wednesday but i figured i could go to our investigators dinner.... bad decision about half way through i got super sick had to excuse myself to the bathroom and in the bathroom i said a prayer it was something like heavenly father please make it so i wont throw up but if i have to make it so it isnt noticeable to anyone else...... so i end up throwing up and freaking out not cause of that but because everyone else like 30ft away and could hear me so i clean myself up get the brocoli out of my nose.....(i dont wish that experience on anyone) go outside totally expecting everyone to be either to a smell the vomit or be mortified about what just happened, but my prayer was answered and no one had any idea my companion didnt even know until i told him in the car on the way home... so heavenly father answers even the oddest of prayers :) 

Ok so this is what happened this week.... so we are teaching and reading the scriptures with a guy who hasnt been going to church for over 40 years, but because he almost died has decided with all his heart that he needs the gospel of Jesus Christ in his life so hes been going to church and reading regularly, hes made huge improvements just from the 6 weeks ive known him, but heres the thing his wife wants nothing to do with it and this week we found out why..... so were sitting on the couch and they are on the one across from us and then out of no where she goes on a rant of how different her husband husband has been in the past 6 weeks and how it was the man she fell in love with... and then she went on to talk about their past life and they had it rough they both had had affairs on each other there were multiple times they thought of getting a divorce but stayed together solely for the children and how she hated the person he had become and all these just heart breaking horrible sad things that you wouldn't wish on anyone. And then she looked directly at me and goes but you elder carpenter I am so great full for the spirit you bring into this home i knew you were different when i first met you..

So after that i was thinking about it and its really cool the way that the gospel changes people for the better this couple says that they are the happiest they have ever been and that they are so glad they dont have to fight there demons anymore"

I met Elder Carpenter when I was at BYU-Hawaii. We were the best of friends and would often spend time at the beach or doing homework together. I got to really know him, but it is cool getting to know the spiritual side of Ty.

Here are some random pieces of Elder Nickell's emails:

"So all four of us Elders are in our apartment, listening to conference talks and such... For whatever reason I was in the our closet praying... And all the sudden the tornado horn (which is right next to our apartment) starts going off! I wish you could've seen these other Elders flip out. They thought they were dead for sure. They were running all around the apartment, asking me what to do because I'm from kentucky (I guess that means I know how to deal with tornados). It was hysterical... Maybe you just had to be there.

Oh man, Tornado scare number 2 this week. I just wish you could've seen these other missionaries running around like a bunch of babies. They were even worse than last time! It was hysterical. Elder worley, the other missionary going to Belem with me, was like "guys, seriously. Seriously. Seriously. We have got to go. I'm not joking!" Our investigator Chris offered for us to come to his house because he has a basement and we live on the second floor of our apartment complex. So they're all getting all there stuff together to leave while I'm studying portuguese. The rain was like literally going sideways as we were about to leave. But then we all knelt and I said a prayer, and I kid you not, the rains had totally stopped when we said amen. That made me feel pretty awesome. Haha!    (These totally made me laugh because I can just picture it all in my head)

Okay so we volunteer at this human services place each thursday, and we help people carry boxes of food to their cars. It's a sweet oppertunity to meet a lot of people! But this week Elder Hansen and I had a TOTAL MIRACLE! This lady walks in there and goes "Oh hey, the missionaries are here!" And none of us had any idea who she was because we know all the less actives on record. So it tuned out that she was a less active, who was baptized in the 1970's, and apparently knew Donny Osmond (I know, that's super random, but she said he helped in her conversion..:p) But then as we were walking out, she was like "Hey elder hansen, the missionary that taught and baptized me was named elder hansen too?" Then elder hansen told her how his uncle served in this mission 40 years ago.. Turns out it was the same guy!!! Roger Hansen baptized carol conroy 40 years ago. And now his nephue  Elder Nick Hansen will reactivate her. Isn't that insane!? Total miracle."

Elder Nickell's emails literally ooze with the his excitement he has! I love his strong Spirit and how he always sees the good in all things! Alex and I met at EFY like 3 years ago, and since then we've been long distance friends. We're becoming even better friends from sharing our testimonies and experiences each week. 

Oh, but the best thing I've gotten from Elder Nickell was a picture of a poem that another Elder, who is also a Brazil visa waiter, wrote for me! 

Elder Nickell and the Elder who wrote my poem!