Devour

We had a baptism this week. Just one lady named Disebo. It went well and her daughter is even now on date for March.. so we'll see how that goes.

Before I forget, I was thinking... my b-day is coming up.. now I don't really want anything too much.... but i was thinking. I just finished reading Jesus the Christ this week, amazing by the way, and now I just want to devour all of Talmage's writings. Not only is he an inspired revelator but he is an amazing writer. So I was thinking for a b-day present... either the complete works of Talmage (besides jesus the christ) or simply "The Great Apostasy"...that book I am dying to read. That would be awesome.

For my studies right now I'm planning on reading through the New Testament and then going to BOM, D&C, and Pearl of GP, ending with the old testament. All the while finishing the missionary library, pmg study, and any other books I have or that you might send. Yes, I am loving learning to much about the gospel...I've already learned a lot and still have so much more to learn.

The area is getting better. We have a couple of father-led families that we're teaching now. That's always exciting. One of the fathers came to church on Sunday. That was awesome since he works most Sundays but the one he had off he came to church! This particular one doesn't even speak English very well. In our last visit he was speaking Sotho with our branch mission leader, and Shona with my companion Elder Jasi, and I was just lost. It was cool though.

Right now we have 5 people on baptismal date and are working on more. I'm still
healthy and working hard. My area is very safe and is so ready for the gospel. I'm
excited to see where this area will go before I leave! I love you all and always love the support you give!

Love, elder robinson

Baptism Dates

Well first of all I have to clarify something. This choir was led by Elder Hnatiuk who was just transfered. They were preparing for branch conference to sing. Hnatiuk is a musical genius and one of my good friends here on the mission. So I couldn't let his choir go to waste. So last Sunday I stepped in and helped as I could with my limited skills on the piano- that is what I meant- I was playing the tenor line softly to help them out since we only had 2 in the choir. We have about 5 sopranos and 2 altos. My companion was the only base. It was pretty weak but it still sounded nice and I at least helped them to hold the thing together. So they could perform for branch conference.

Anyways it was nice to see so many people getting trained on Sunday and it made me really excited to especially help this branch get some more priesthood leadership. We only sang one song and that was "Nearer My God to Thee" straight out of the book. It sounded nice compared to how the branch normally sounds... bad. haha they do the best they can though.

We have a car to ourselves and we are living in a two man flat but in the same complex as 4 other missionaries. The saftey in Sharpeville is probably more safe than Tsakane cause we have a car. Plus Sharpville is tiny. Very small. I don't know why Tsakane has bikes when the area is ten times as big. haha

So the area is picking up well. Elder Jasi and I are working hard and teaching a lot of people. Some not so serious but some that are. We've put 4 people on baptism dates just this week! That was awesome. Too bad no future priesthood holders. There's this one girl that the missionaries found a while ago but then went straight on holiday. We contacted her just last week for the first time since she's gotten back. Then on Saturday night we put her on date. It was the fastest I've put someone on baptismal date! Plus she's come to church both Sundays since we've taught her. Then this week I think there are one or two more people we're planning on getting on date! Sweet! On Saturday we're baptizing Disabo, a woman that the other missionaries had been teaching. That will be cool to see her get baptized. We have to go to the chapel in Vereeniging so that we can go to the baptism. Luckily our branch president and his counselor have trucks to transport people. So we just meet them there. Far less stressful than in Tsakane.

Anyways so things are getting better and better. I'm just taking everything one
day at a time. But everything is just flying by. Thanks for all the love and prayers. I love you all!

Love, your elder robinson... or as they say here elder robertson spices

Let Us All Press On

I'm not in a new area yet. I got my transfer news on Saturday (which was also my six months on the mission mark). The news is that I'm going to another township called Sharpville which is only about an hour away. I was a little bummed that I wasn't going to any of the beautiful country up North or down South but I got something else instead. It's a new challenge. You see they are white-washing the area. That means my new companion (Elder Jasi) and I will both be new to the area. Missionaries have been there but because of some other circumstances they have to transfer them both out at the same time. So that will be interesting to see how we cope. I'm sure we will do fine though. I'm also excited to be in a 2 man flat. That way I don't get distracted. I'll be able to concentrate more and study harder.

Yes, I do miss playing my guitars.. with a passion. Especially the electric... with some distortion.. oh yea haha. I told you that my trainer Elder Brown played the piano. That's why I started to lead. Then I got stuck doing that. It wasn't till this last Sunday that I didn't have to lead sacrament meeting.

There are some really poor areas. But the thing is- there is opportunity. I was just talking to a guy about it the other day(from Tsakane). He was telling me how there are so many programs to help people out from the government. They just dont take it.Plus they say there is a huge unemployment problem yet you'll see 10 guys standing around fixing a chip in the sidewalk. So to put it simply life is hard for them... its true. But for the most part it is usually because of the dead beat fathers. Like Sannah. I've told you about her so much. She has an awesome testimony but is just so poor. She works almost everyday and has so many problems with her family dying and things. It is sad. And what have I seen her husband do? Sit on the couch and watch tv. Every time we're there. I asked if he worked and Sannah said nope. But they still manage to get along somehow. It really hurts to see people in situations like that. You just wish you could just get them out somehow...they do have electricity and running water and all that... but its not always reliable. Then you have to remember that this country is like the America of Africa. It's the best. Everyone wants to come here. But they do their best and I am impressed by their will to push forward.. even when there isn't much hope. That's why its even more important for us to share the gospel with them. Give them some hope.

Anyways, so this Sunday was a busy one. First off I confirmed Thuli who was baptized last week. That was a great experience as usual. Then I was asked at first to give a departing testimony which actually became me taking the time of the third speaker who didnt show up. I just went through with them the sacrament prayers. I told them if there is anything I want to leave with them it is the need to stay true to those baptismal covenants. Then I related 2Ne 4 where Nephi pours his heart out. And lastly I read with them "let us all press on". I felt good about it and after I bore my testimony I felt even better. On Wednesday I'll leave this area. I'm gonna miss them very much. The people here are awesome. Right now we have some poeple that I just can't wait to see get baptized. It's so amazing to see people get baptized and how they change. It's great. But it's time to move on and I'm excited for the future.

Thanks for all the love and support. Keep it coming!

Love, elder robinson

There Are Ups and Downs

It was great to talk to the family this last week, although it seemed all too short haha. It just made me excited to get home and show you all the pictures and tell you all the stories. It will be great. My companion didn't get to talk to his family on Christmas day, but the next day we went back to the chapel and he called them with a calling card. Then I got to wait and do nothing while he talked. So it balanced out.
It's weird to think that Phil is already home and that I'm already 5 months on my mission working on my 6th! It's just plain weird.

On Friday we got kicked out of a house. It was pretty funny actually. We were teaching this girl (who's about 30-40 yrs old) and her drunk father walks in and says "do we owe you anything?". We explained we were just missionaries. Then he said "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!". We were a little confused. His daughter said no its fine, stay. Then the father started saying something about this is earth and heaven is heaven and asked us if we thought we were better than him. We tried reasoning but that doesn't work too well when someone is intoxicated. So we left and it made the daughter cry that her father would be so rude. That was sad.

This past Sunday we had a lot of bad bad luck. First we had to ride like 10k's just to our lunch appointment. After we rode back our 3rd,4th,and 5th ended up all being gone. Trying to find something to do we went to see Agent Mishak. He's been trying to get baptized but won't come to church and was having a hard time stopping smoking. A few weeks ago he seemed to be all done with everything and seemed so intent on coming to church. The next Sunday, no Agent. Then last week we went to help him build his cucu's nest and he wasn't there. We kept checking on him but he wasn't there! We thought he might have died (he's very old). Then on Sunday we went to see him since he didn't come to church again. This time he was drunk! It made me feel sick. We've been working so hard and then here is Agent just drunk saying he wants to get baptized and how he doesn't need to quit drinking until after he's baptized. People really turn into someone they're not when they're drunk. It's ridiculous. I can't stand it. So we set an appointment to come back when he was sober. That really brought me down though, especially being on top of everything else that went wrong yesterday....But you know... missionary work is not supposed to be easy.

On Saturday we went to see Sannah who I've told you about. She has such a strong testimony and has hardly come to church once! She lives so far from the school and she is very busy. She cried on Saturday because she feels it is so true and wants to be baptized so much and come to church every Sunday so much. It's amazing to see how in such humble and even bad circumstances (her mother and sister are very sick) she can feel so much joy, and you know it's because it's true. The church is true. Experiences like that just help me to keep going. Especially after days like yesterday. Hopefully the holidays will end soon. Then everything will be back to normal.

Thanks for all the support. You know I need it and I appreciate it so much.

Love you all
-elder robinson

My Week in Pictures

Baptism of: (from left back) Nombuso, Elder Bloom, Sarah, Babalwa, Zola, me,
(Front): Johanna and her brother Paul


A typical day in Tsakane (my planner):


Then a long day ended with some cokes. Elders: Gideme, Burnett, me, Hawker, Pugsley

The weather is getting pretty hot. Rain storms are very frequent.

So yesterday we had two more baptisms. Dallis and Gladys. A husband and wife who will be a huge addition to our branch. I can't wait to see them progress. I performed the baptism for Gladys. It was way cool. I'm getting kinda lazy with pictures, I know. But I'm gonna make a picture CD soon and send a bunch home. One of my flatmates, Elder Hawker has lost a bunch of pictures from his memory cards getting corrupted. So I don't want that to happen to me. There are a lot of virus' in this country everywhere you go. It's crazy.

Well that's all for this week. Thanks for the love and support.

Love, elder robinson

Normal Week

Our mission is having a Christmas party next Tuesday. Then transfers are the next day. I should be in Tsakane for another 6 weeks, but you never know. I see my mission president every 6 weeks at zone conference where we have interviews. My district leader is my companion and he's awesome. Then my zone leaders, Elder Pugsley and Gideme are also awesome. Pugsley especially just knows how to be a good leader. He's an awesome missionary and knows how to lead without managing.

This coming Sunday we are suppose to have a husband and wife baptized. They will be interviewed this week so we'll see. The holidays have made missionary work frustrating. I mean we are extremely busy and teach a lot... but hardly anyone will come to church. The frustrating part is that you think you've had a successfull week and then noone shows up to church- and really that's what shows how interested they are. So besides that we've had a rather normal week. We got a replacement car on Thursday which was sweet. We're able to get around better. Much better. We still only have the car every other day but at least on the off days we can have the bikes now. That's awesome.

Well I guess that's all for this week. I'm safe and healthy! I love you all

Love, elder robinson

Holidays on the Mission

Thanksgiving was our flat-mate's birthday so we went to Ocean Basket and had some seafood. It was good, but not thanksgiving. I'm just excited for Christmas! I can't wait to call home so I can tell you all how it really is here. Also, can we set something up with Camilla so I can talk to her? Are they coming this Christmas? If not maybe I can talk to her over the webcam or something.

Yes, we're still walking around. It's not fun. Believe me. Phil (Hall) is going home on December 17th. I'll be there at the transfer meeting to see his family. That will be cool.

You know, here in South Africa there are a lot of poor people but not neccesarily poverty. What I mean is that like up in Zim, Sudan and central Africa it's much much worse. That being said, Americans would still be very surprised at the conditions that people live in here. It's pretty sad sometimes. I do serve in a little branch called the Tsakane branch. We have a few active priesthood holders... like three reliable ones. It's very frustrating. In fact on Sunday I led the music, passed the sacrament with Morris(a recent convert) while Wandile(a recent convert) blessed along with Rosewell (the branch clerk/everything else that people won't do). Our branch President is ok...he couldn't come to church yesterday because of work though(he's a teacher and was grading tests). So on top of all this on Sunday I also was chosen to confirm two of the 5 that were baptized last week. The fun part was that only 2 of the 5 showed up before sacrament. I was pretty mad. Luckily we were able to do it at the end of the meeting because one of them was leaving this week for a month or so...and so we had to get her confirmed. It was a stressful sacrament meeting. Besides that, our branch is pretty lame. We have a few strong awesome members, but besides that the rest are pretty lame. I mean last Sunday we had 92 at
church. This Sunday we had less than 50. Most of which didn't even show up till after the Sacrament. It gets pretty frustrating and it will only get worse around the holidays. The schools here are kind of like the year round schools back home. Except the end of the school year is now and it starts again in January. This world is messed up. People even see the light and gain a testimony here but they let it die so easy. You know how people were reading the BOM and coming to church in Africa before the church was even here? Well that takes on a new meaning for me now. I suspect that they really didn't know what was going on. Here church is just church. It doesn't mean anything more. No one is concerned with doctrine...even members of the church. I mean I can't say everyone. Once in a while you come across people who are concerned with important things...there is simply an overwhelming culture of
church in this country...it's a business.

Well enough about that. Even still I love missionary work and time is just flying by too fast. It's gonna be gone before I know it. I can't believe December is here already. We've been increasing our teaching pool and gaining smarter more competent interested people than before. So I'm excited. We'll see what happens.

I hope everything is going well back home!! I love you all.

Love, elder robinson