Walked and Walked and Walked and Walked...

I'm glad to hear the family is doing great. You know being away from family and seeing how broken the majority of families are makes me miss our family reunions and just being together with them. It really makes me feel so incredibly blessed to be a part of the family I am.

So this week was pretty eventful. First of all we had heard last week that Saturday March 21st was Human Rights Day or Commemoration day.. commemorating the Sharpeville massacre! Back during aparteid the Blacks had to have this ID book that they called some name that basically meant stupid person or something like that. So Sharpeville residents started to protest so much that they sent an army in.. with a helicopter.. dropped down and just mowed down the crowd. Supposedly 69 people died in the first incident and many others shortly after. So our branch mission leader told us it would not be safe on that day especially with the elections coming up. At first we thought we would be home all day. Then President Poulsen so no, we needed to work...So we did. We came into Sharpeville a little on edge not sure what to expect. Down by the soccer stadium there were huge tents that we saw set up and a huge stage and things like that. On Saturday there were huge buses everywhere bringing people in from everywhere. Anyways first appointment...we were sitting outside and a little boy walked by and stopped, looked at me then came to the gate and tried to get in.
He couldn't and instead just yelled.. makua watsamaiya... meaning "white man get out of here". Not a good start. Luckily we were safe the rest of the day and nothing crazy happened... just tons of people all over Sharpeville.

Another highlight of this week was that Prince made it to church! We had our branch president's wife follow us and she gave him a ride. Man, he was so excited to be there. He even participated in the discussion in combined Relief Society/Priesthood. We were talking about Home Teaching/Visiting Teaching (which he doesnt even know about). It was awesome. I almost shed a tear haha. Then after church we had the baptism of Baipidi. That was awesome. This girl has been ready since we got here.

We are losing our car here in Sharpeville. It's an interesting story...remember when our car was wrecked back in Tsakane and we had to walk for about 3 weeks until there could be a replacement car or ours was fixed? Well the same car has been smashed again. But this time they are taking my car here in Sharpeville and giving it to them. So to clarify- both times that this same car in the Tsakane/ Kwa Thema area has been crashed- I'm the one who ends up without a car. Even when I'm serving in an area at least 2 hours away! Strange coincidence, nay? So now we'll have to get around Sharpeville walking...pray for us. It's going to be a hard transition. We've had days this week with an appointment every half hour. Plus our investigators are spread all over Sharpeville!! But I guess the Lord will provide a way.

Just know that I am healthy and still loving the mission. Love you lots and I always
appreciate the support!

Love, elder robinson

P.S. Do you think you could send me a condensed version of my family history? The people here love their ancestors. So much that they pray to them. When we say that they shouldn't pray to them their response is "you mean to tell me you don't have any ancestors?" So I want to whip out my family history on them!

Hiking and Epiphanies

Preparation day hiking...

Chillin' South Africa Style

First off, Prince is getting baptized. We came to see him this week. Remember his eyes don't even allow him to read the Book of Mormon. So, all he's had is our word and prayer. I asked him flat out how he feels about all this or if he'd received an answer yet.. he said "all I have to say is, it's true". Man, that felt so good. Then when we were teaching him he had one of his epiphanies. Elder Jasi taught him about faith and then he said "so its not faith unless I DO something about it". Man, this guy is amazing...Especially for an old guy! We put him on date for March 27th. It will be a challenge though to get him under the water. I hope I don't have to baptize him...I'm afraid I might break him. I'll send you pictures when he gets baptized. Also this week we had the baptism of 4 sisters!! (not blood sisters). Two young women age and two young adults all from different families. I'll get the pictures to you next week. But the service went great. We had it on Saturday and I was asked to baptize one of them. Then the next day on Sunday I was asked to confirm 2 of them. It was a great weekend for Sharpeville.

I'm not sure we taught any super special lessons this week. It's kind of hard to
remember. We are always super busy. Which is the best way to be on a mission. It makes time go much faster. So now we have 4 people on baptismal date spread out from March to April.

We have transfers this week. Everything is the same with my companion and I. But two guys are leaving my district. Including the district leader. His name is Elder Cunico. He's only a few months older than I on the mission but he's a great leader. I hope our next DL is the same.

So today we went to a Nature Reserve called "suikerbos"... supposedly there are baboons and things there. But all we saw were some spring bok (almost like deer) far in the distance. Plus there was suppose to be this 10k hike but the trail disappeared after about 1k. So we ended up just exploring around going through the bush. It was pretty cool to be out hiking again. I miss the outdoors so much. I miss hiking. I keep telling people that as soon as I get home I'm getting off the plane and walking into the bush to go backpacking for a month. Then I'll be able to go home. haha. That's why I really want to get out of Gauteng. I want to go up to Botswana or the north east province or even down to Lesotho.

Right now it's raining harder outside than I've ever seen it rain. It's ridiculous.
Well thanks again for all the support and prayers. Know that I'm staying safe and healthy and working hard!!

Love, your son elder robinson

Remarkable

I got a letter from on of my recent converts who ended up becoming our branch missionary in Tsakane and coming to teach with us a lot. I told you about him. His name is Wandile. We spent Christmas at his house. Anyways that was a nice surprise. It's amazing to see the change happen in a person's life when the gospel takes affect.

So for this week I think the most interesting experience was a guy named Prince. We tracted into this guy maybe two weeks ago. When we taught him and his wife at first we weren't even sure if he spoke English. But after a short time we realized not only did this old man speak English very well but he also understood all of the concepts very well. So at our first lesson he told us he and his wife we alcoholics. We tried to give him some words of advice to quit and he hasn't touched alcohol since. The bad part is that soon after our first lesson we came back and asked him how he was. He said not good. His wife had left him. To this day she still hasn't come back but that hasn't stopped him from gaining a testimony. I can already see this seed growing inside him. It's amazing. This old man who can barely walk has been on alcohol his entire life. Then here come the missionaries and teach him truth. what do you know, he changes his life around and is coming to know what is really important in life. The level of understanding at his age is remarkable. I mean go read Alma chapter 12 and you'll find some pretty interesting concepts in there that may even be hard for someone well-learned to understand at first. We would teach these things to Prince and he would look at us like every other person(blank stare) but he would then ask very thoughtful questions. Like he will ask "so your saying we can't be free of sins without following the gospel of Jesus Christ?" or "Well then what happens to those who don't free themselves of their sins?". It's great to meet someone who is not just interested in your message because its from God but because he actually wants to know truth from God! Then to have that person be over 70 years old is remarkable.

Anyway so that was my awesome experience this week. We're going to try and put Prince on baptismal date tonight actually. Yesterday we had baptismal interviews. We have 4 people getting baptized on Saturday. That will be awesome! Last night I cooked those cookies you sent me at Christmas. Let me say thank you mom and thanks from all the missionaries in my district. They were a hit. Now I'll have to try and make some from scratch.

Thanks for all the love and support! I know that I am truly blessed to have such loving friends and family. Know that I am safe and healthy and still loving the mission. I love you all!

Love, elder robinson

Intrigued

Last Sunday we were surprised in the middle of the meeting to sing a song that we hadn't even practiced and the piano wasn't even set up! No one was on key until the last verse! It was embarrassing. Then this Sunday we practiced since they will join the stake choir next week for stake conference. With my limited knowledge of the piano and their limited knowledge of singing it was painful.

Well the work continues on. This past week we've had a lot of success in both teaching and finding. The people here are just ready for the gospel, it's only a matter of finding them. Some don't care but some are really interested. I love it when you teach a lesson and by the end they are just amazed. That happened this week with a guy named Alfred. By the end he was just so intrigued at the thought that this could be the gospel of the restored church on the earth! But even the best investigators won't go anywhere if they dont keep commitments. So we'll see, we can only hope and pray.

We also came across a lady tracting yesterday who didn't want to dissappoint us because she had already found the way. She said it was this guy (who she's never met before) that is the next Pastor Chris. Pastor Chris is basically pretty close to every false prophet that the New Testament talks about. He goes around doing huge concerts where he heals people and stuff. Anyway this other guy, named MR Mokoena, supposedly heals all kinds of people. This lady was so into it...I was seriously afraid she was going to jump on us- that's how ecstatic she was! Then she goes on to tell us that she has been bewitched by her husband and basically her whole life story (keep in mind she never wanted to talk to us in the first place) and that she has what doctors tell her is arthritis but since she cant "see" it only feels it she knows she is bewitched. So we told her she should have Mr. Mokoena heal her (she wasnt listening to a word we were saying) and then she said that that is why she's following his church... which is called Durane, by the way. Well that was an experience. We had our ear talked off for half an hour (nothing new) by a lady who was following a clearly false prophet. If some of these people would just read the bible that they hold so close to their hearts but never open... they would not be so easily deceived. It's sad but one day I think they'll have their chance.

Well that's about all that's new here. We're still working hard. This Saturday we have 4 baptismal interviews for the following week. Wweet! Thanks for all the love and support! Tell Camilla I said hi!


Love, your son

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