Puerto Vallarta!

Well I love it here. This is paradise. I don't know if you guys remember Elder Heath? He was my 3rd companion in the mission all the way back in Xalisco. Well he is my companion again! We are pretty excited! We baptised this week, Hermana Rosa, and she is awesome. She is a single mother who loves the Book of Mormon. It was a great experience. We are teaching a less active family and preparing their son Pablo for a baptism this week. We are loving it her in Vallarta, the beach, the people are awesome, its soooooo hot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I sweat so much here. There are always a ton of tourists from Utah in our ward, they are pretty cool. Well I love you all!!!!!!!! 

Happy Mother's Day!

This was the best present ever! One hour with my boy! Tyler is so happy! He loves serving and he loves the Mexican people! 7 months left! I can't wait!

CABRA

Elder Tapia and I did a lot of divisiones this week and we had interviews with the president, so we didn't have a lot of time to work in our area But Hermana Jakie was baptized. We had the baptism service with a couple of other missionaries from the zone and a ton of people were baptised. We had to postpone the baptism of hermana Monserat til the next week because her aunt, who is member, is coming in from Vallarta to watch her be baptised. I am so thankful that the lord is blessing us with so many opportunities to teach people and watch them progress! We found a family this week who looks like they have a lot of potential. We finally received a ward mission leader and he is helping us a ton! Now if we could only get a bishop in this ward. Well I am super excited for mothers day! I want to Skype again. There are a few families in the ward that have skype so I will get it done. I am thinking about calling at 4 or maybe a little earlier like 330. But send me your skype address so I can call. Thanks for the pictures. I read in the ensign a talk on the atonement that I really liked by Elder Bednar. I love you all! Talk to ya Sunday!!!!!!

Mexico!

Hey family, This week Elder Tapia and I did everything we could to baptize. We searched and taught and prepared, but we didn't have the success we were hoping for. We were planning on at least 18 investigators in church this Sunday and we did divisiones to pass by for all of them. We had a car and a giant truck ready to fill for everyone, but no one could go. It was kinda sad but we didn't lose the faith. We worked so so hard Sunday. We knew our Heavenly Father was going to bless us. We left the sacrament meeting to go look for some more people to bring to church and came back empty handed. When we got out of the taxi we saw a girl entering the church. I said hi to her and asked her if she was from the other ward. It turns out that she isn't a member! She has been to church a ton and even went to EFY but has never been baptized! We asked where she lived and it turns out she lives in our area! She accepted the invitation to be baptised this Saturday!!!!! Only through the grace of God we can baptize, after we have done all that we could do. I love this church. I know it is so true!!!!!! I love you all

Tepic!

This week was great! I love being here in Tepic. Yesterday I ate like 25 oysters and I feel great. We had a baptism Saturday, Hermana Betsy. She is a daughter of a less active hermana, but her grandpa is an active, awesome man. He started bringing her to church and now she has been baptised! Her mom is starting to reactivate too. We are hoping we can baptise this week too. Our goal is a baptismal service every week. We have to be the example for the zone. We are finding a lot of people. Hermana Erica is still waiting for permission, but we won't lose the faith. Elder Tapia my comp. He is from Chihuahua and is the biggest man in the world. He is teaching me a ton. We are having a ton of fun. well I love you all!

Old, Scary woman!

4/9/2012

This week was great. Hermana Liliana and her daughter, Lily got baptised! It was a cool experience. They were a part of a christian church before, but they never were baptized there. She said she was praying and looking for the right church for her and her daughter and we knocked the door. They are real awesome. We had a great experience this week. We have been teaching a friend of a member name herman a Estivaliz. She has gone to church and she went to conference and everything but her family doesn't want her to be baptized. But she prayed alot about it and read the chapters from the Book of Mormon and during a lesson, the spirit hit her sooooo hard and she knew it was true and is set on being baptised this Saturday. Yesterday we walked a lot in the hot, hot sun and we didn't have a lot of water in our system. I was super dehydrated so we stopped at our house to grab some water really fast. We get there and walk up the stairs and search the house for water, but there wasn't any. But then I found a bottle of water in our fridge. I opened it and right before I was about to drink it, we see someone walking up our stairs. We both froze! An old woman walked into our house( my comp left the door open) and she stole my bottle of water. I was speechless! We are still trying to process if she was a ghost or not??? But then we led her out of the house. Changes are today and Elder Johnson is leaving to Santiago and I am staying here. We had a ton of fun together -probably one of my favorite comps! Well I love you all. I know the power of the Book of Mormon and prayer is HUGE! NEVER STOP READING!!!! love Elder Roberts

4/17/2012

Yup, I was in a earthquake! It was small, but it was kinda cool! We were in Guadalajara for a leadership council and it started shaking a little bit. It was cool. I saw some people from one of my old areas there. They told me Octavio from Las Aguilas just got the Melchizedek priesthood! I am so happy for him! I love that guy! Estabiliz was baptized! It was a cool experience! Thanks for your prayers. She got the courage to tell her parents that she new the church was true and she was going to make this decision. There was an awesome spirit there. We are teaching the niece of hermana Liliana and she wants to be baptized too. But she has the same problemita with her parents, but we will pray alot for hermana Erica. We found a family this week and they are progressing very well - the familia flores I really want to see them get baptised as a family. Well I love you all!

hamburgesas de avestrus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I loved conference! It was great! We brought a ton of people! We had investigators in every session but one. We told them all to bring questions written down with the promise that they would be answered - and they all were! I love Holland's talk on envy. It seemed like a branch of the good old "pride talk" from our pal President Benson. We actually used that talk to teach a lesson Sunday. IT was an awesome weekend full of personal revelation. There is not a doubt in my mind that Thomas S. Monson is an inspired prophet of God. My testimony of that was strengthened more than ever.

   This week I ate ostrich. I hear it has less fat, but you eat more of it. It was actually a great burger, one of the best I have had. The ostrich egg tasted like a normal egg, it just was gigantic.

   We went and worked in a little town where we had to take a bus 45 minutes to arrive. Compostela!!!! We did some work up there helping out some missionaries that just opened the area. They have bike taxis up there, so we had to take one. It was cool.

   We are teaching a lot of new people. We found a family yesterday that is in real need of the gospel. Her husband was kidnapped and they never heard from him again. They are really struggling but I know the gospel will help them out. We are teaching a girl named Estivilis. She is a reference from a girl in our ward. She is pretty cool and went to every session of conference this weekend, but her family doesn't want her to be baptized. She is 20 years old so she can make her own decision, but her family is really pressuring her to not do it. We need some extra prayers headed her way por favor.

Back to Xalisco!

Well this week was great. It was awesome. We found a bunch of people and we are preparing a woman name Rosio to be baptised. She is awesome and is passing through some tough times in her life, but we are planning that she will be baptised between conference sessions Sunday. I made tortillas this week. It was my companion's birthday. We bought him a cake and it was good. I went to Xalisco again and saw the Cuellar family! That was cool and they were happy to see me. I loved that. well I love you all!

The Cuellar Family

Stuffed Otter!

Hola! Well I am still loving it here in Tepic! I am still getting use to washing my clothes by hand again and the hot sun, but it is awesome. The shower we have here is an electric heated shower and it shocks me every morning. I hate it. I got to return to Xalisco to do some divisions and I loved to see the members there. They are real great. We just received a new gringo in the zone and guess where he came from? Everett Washington!!!! He said Kory was his zone leader in Washington!!!! While he was there, he broke some pizza eating record. I was happy to hear that. Well we baptised this week. His name is Jair and he is awesome. He is 11 years old and his mom is less active and his dad isn't a member. His grandpa got to baptise and confirm him. It was a nice experience. Sam and parker's prom pictures look awesome! They look like MEN! Sorry about the cat. The picture attached is a stuffed otter I found in a house. I've started up the New Testament again and I am really enjoying it. Well I love you all. 

Tepic!

March 5

HOLA!!!!!! Well I have 1 minute to write, But I am in Tepic! I love it here, the mountains, the people, everything! It was sad to leave Elder Lopez. He was most defs one of my favorite comps and that area was amazing too.  My new ward is a lot different but they are still way ready and able to help out. We have a couple people that I hope are baptized. We will work with them so that they can meet that goal. Well I love you all.

Elder Roberts

P.s. Sorry, yup I got your package -thankssooooooo much, I loved it. Also, I got Karin's package and I loved it too. Tell her thanks. And tell Grandma Bliss thanks for all of her cards and dollars. It makes me so happy.  love you.

March 12

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM AND PARKER!!!!! 17 YEARS OLD!!!! Just 2 years away from the mish!!!! That's so cool!! Well I love Tepic! This place is great! The weather is awesome but it is getting hotter. The people are way nice and we are trying to figure out how to baptise them all.  My companion, Elder Johnson is cool, he is from Mesa, Arizona and has like 19 months in the mission. He is my second gringo companion. We should have 2 baptisms this week! I am pretty excited! We are working hard. Sorry my letters are short. I know they are horrible but I don't have time to write ever. well I love you all.

Elder Roberts

 

P.s. I left my camera cord in Guadalajara. sorry no photos

Good-bye to the office!

This week was good. It was great! Carlos and Elisa were baptised and it went great, except for Lola, the wife of Carlos, couldn't get off work early enough and didn't show up at his baptism. But he was determined to be baptised. I really do love them! Yesterday they were confirmed and it was such a great day. I knew I was leaving the ward so I said goodbye to everyone. I only had 6 weeks in this ward but hands down one of my favorite wards that I have been in. Oh ya, I got my changes and I am returning to TEPIC!!!!!!!! I am way excited! I do love the state of Nayarit! I will be one of the zone leaders up there and I am stoked! I am way excited to work! I have learned so much in my time here and I am way excited to head back to the land of the lamanites. Well this means you need to write me before Monday because I will be writing you Monday in the morning from now on. Love you all! I know the Book of Mormon is true and I know it has THE FULLNESS OF THE GOSPEL!!!! 

Carlos and Lola got married!

Well we have good news and bad news about Carlos and Lola. The good news is Lola was baptised but Carlos had some problemitas. But don't worry, he is getting baptised this Saturday. They got married last Saturday! We went to the office place to plan it and everything, with all their papers, birth certificates and stuff, and everyone was giving us the worst looks ever. Half way through the process I realized that everyone there thought that Elder Lopez and I were getting married. I love my companion and everything but I don't think I was ready for that kind of commitment. But everything worked out in the end and Carlos and Lola were married. It was great. President made my changes this week. I was about to go to the only area in the mission that has SNOW!!!!!!! But it wasn't where I was suppose to go. But I still have a week left here in Primavera and I will work hard and focus on this week. 

The baptism of Lola!

Zombies

Well Carlos and Lola didn't get married so they couldn't get baptised. You have no idea how hard it is to marry a couple in Jalisco. Everyone tells us we should go to another state to marry them so we don't have to deal with the registro civil here. We were stuck in registro civil from 9am to almost 300pm. We battled and battled but they are getting married and getting baptised this week. They are awesome! I really do love them so much. They want to be baptised but they have their sights stuck on the temple. Baptism is only a little stepping stone. Elisa the wife of Roshon is progressing so well. She is going to be baptised this Sunday with Carlos and Lola. She is having a lot of problems in her life right now and I know she needs the Holy Ghost more than anything right now. President is making my changes. I'm mos defs leaving the offices, but the change doesn't end for 2 weeks so I will be focusing on baptizing these two weeks. I love my companion! We are working way hard! I wrestle with him a lot. In the offices we have a luchathon, but one of the assistants is a pretty big guy. He gives me a run for my money but I can still beat him sometimes. I hope you are enjoying Star Wars episode 1 3D. The past couple of weeks I have bought my cereal according to the free starwars stuff I can get. We had our zone conference this week and it was a great experience! I learned a ton. We are trying to focus on working with members more. I love the mish.

My bus was hijacked!

Baptism of Hermana Ana

Well we had a fantastic week. I love this ward! It is the greatest! We worked way hard and we found a family of 5 that accepted to be baptised. We are putting a goal for them for the 25th of this month! Hermana Ana got baptised Saturday! It was such a special experience for her! The water was sooooooo cold, because the water heater doesn't work, but it still worked out. The enemy tries so hard to ruin baptisms but he did not win!!!! We had so many problems but it all worked out so awesome in the end. She already has visiting teachers and the Bishop gave her a triple combo, a bible, and a hymn book after her baptism! I have never seen or heard of that before but I was so grateful for the support of the ward. I won't forget how happy she looked after she was confirmed. That is the best part of a baptism. After the baptism on the bus ride home, a strange man with a machete and giant tree clippers got on the bus. The bus hit a speed bump and he totally fell down, he laid there for a while but then got up and put on a ski mask and told the bus driver to go somewhere. Before we knew it everyone on the bus slowly moved behind my companion, Elder Hall, Elder Magaña and I. The wall of missionaries! To be honest, I didn't know where we were, but we got off pretty close to the house. And when we left, pretty much the whole bus left with us. It was pretty crazy but I know that we are protected. Carlos and Lola are set to get baptised this week. They are getting married Saturday night and getting baptised in the morning before sacrament meeting. They have made a ton of friends in the ward and feel right at home. I had a very interesting experience Sunday. So like 9 days ago, a man contacted us in English, his name was Roshon. It turns out he is a inactive member and he doesn't speak Spanish. He is from Sri Lanka, an island close to India! He can speak English alright. Oh ya and a little over a month ago he got married to a Mexican women. He invited us to his house and it turns out his wife is real nice. We had a lesson with her and it turns out she is going through some real tough times. We taught the power and importance of prayer and it made the biggest impact on her life! They came to church yesterday and she loved it! He doesn't speak Spanish so I translated the meeting into English, and gospel principles, and priesthood. It was a cool experience. His wife Elisa has accepted baptism and we are preparing her for the 18th. I love my companion, we have so much fun everyday! This is his second area and he loves it here. I do too! I have been feeling the spirit stronger than ever before in the mission. I love you all.

I am alive, alright!

Hey sorry I haven't written for a while. We had changes! Elder Moguel left the offices and I am here again! Yup, I didn't see that coming, but its alright. I am getting white washed into another area again this change. I am starting to get use to that. I have a new comp ELDER LOPEZ!!!!! He is from Mexico city and is awesome! We are working way hard together. Our new ward is great! It was the first time in my mission since my first area where I have seen the building full of members! We have a lot of support from them and they are starting to throw some references our way. We have some real great people we are teaching right now. We found a young couple named Carlos and Lola in the dropped investigator binder and we are teaching them. They aren't married but we brought with us to our lesson a counselor from the mtc in Mexico who is in our ward and his fiancé. It was incredible! They were the ultimate example of a future perfect marriage. Carlos and Lola have  date to get married the 11th of February and to get baptized Sunday, the next morning before church. I am pretty excited! We found a couple of other dropped investigators that are progressing real well. Hermana Ana is the best! She has a testimony of the church and wants to get baptised but the problem is she works on Sundays. She also is the biggest fan of Phantom of the Opera. We are praying that she can find a job that she doesn't have to work Sundays. She is 22 years old and a single mother and is soooooo humble! She is doing all she can to support her kid. But she changed her shift so she didn't have to start work til 12 and so we went to the ward that has church at 8. She loved it! And actually we did too. I am not going to lie, I wasn't too excited about 6 hours of church every Sunday for a while, but it was great except for when we were in the other ward the gospel principles teacher didn't show up so I had to give the lesson to a ward where I didn't know anyone. But everything went good. My comp and I are working way hard, and we are having a ton of fun. The food in this ward is wonderful! I have never had such variety of such marvelous food before! My diet out side of the food with the hermanas consists of cereal and quesadillas. I am having a great time. I love you all!