Miracles

Letter from April 13, 2015

Dear Family,

It made me so happy to hear your voice this week! When I got the call from President about being a Sister Training Leader next transfer and he told me I could call my family to share the news, I was giddy. You sounded so good. 

This week was so good. Sister Morceli and I had so much fun just laughing and working together. She really has become like a sister to me. I'm so glad I'm staying in the zone with her here in North! We'll even still be in the same district, and we'll go on exchanges too, so I can come back to the area and visit our investigators! I am thrilled that I'll be serving with Sister Kraus. She is a powerhouse missionary. She turns 22 this week (so I may or may not be humming Taylor Swift throughout the day...), and has 3 transfers left on her mission. She's going back up to BYU Provo in the fall, so I'll see her around campus next winter semester :) I love having so many new friends for after the mission. Transfers are going to be super easy tomorrow, because I'm literally just moving across the road to the closest apartment complex nearby where we live. I am really looking forward to the rigor and work of this next phase of my mission! 

District picture! Sister Kraus (my new companion) is to the left of me!

I wanted to share an experience Sister Morceli and I had this week. I wrote about it in my letter to President Snow this week:
"One day this week we street contacted a Jehovah's Witness in the middle of the afternoon, just before one of our appointments. I've had many interesting street contacts with JW's on my mission, but this one was particularly note-worthy. Without going into too much detail, I'll just say that the woman was very kind, and seemed to want to have us sit down on her porch and have a hearty gospel debate. We declined (because we had to get going to our appointment), but before leaving, we offered her a Restoration pamphlet. She said she'd take it if we'd take one of hers. She pulled out an impressive notebook of various pamphlets and brochures, and motioned for us to look through them and have a look. We chose one that read: 'Who REALLY rules the world?' We exchanged our pamphlets, and even left with a hug, then headed to our appointment. We left and I just kept thinking... it is so interesting how fervent and devoted the Jehovah's Witnesses are - in many ways they remind me of us! How can they be so sure that they're right, when they lack the fullness of the truth? My questioning wasn't so much a crisis of faith, but more a sincere curiosity and yearning for understanding. I expressed my thoughts to Sister Morceli, but we soon brushed it to the side and went on with the day. The next day, we had gone through all of our scheduled names just before our 5:00 dinner appointment, so we decided to walk around the block and contact until it was time for dinner. The streets were deserted, and it seemed as if no one was home. We decided to say a quick prayer to see a miracle before we reached our car again. After the prayer, we kept walking. We soon realized that we'd walked right up to the home of our dinner appointment (unintentionally - we'd thought we'd have to drive there, but turns out they were closer than we thought!), so we headed in for dinner with our members, the Bartons. They are an elderly couple in their late 70's - some of those members who've been active all their lives and have served missions and are truly converted to the Gospel. They shared many tender, spiritual experiences with us; the spirit was overwhelming while we were in their home. Sister Morceli and I both left feeling like we were on cloud 9 - it was just the energy and boost and reaffirmation of faith that we needed after a somewhat trying week of contacting (especially with the JW's). The dinner had answered some of my concerns and questions, and I recognized it as an answer to my prayers. We left the Bartons, walked around the block, and got in our car for our next appointment. Later that night, as I was reflecting on the day, I realized that we'd only talked to one person on the street after we'd said our brief prayer for a miracle... we hadn't had the "miracle" we were thinking of with an amazing street contact, but it was very evident that we'd had a miracle at dinner with the Bartons, before we reached our car again. The miracle was on our behalf - for our upliftment, encouragement, and strength. How grateful I am for small miracles and signs that Heavenly Father is ever-aware and intimately involved with our personal lives. "

Sister Morceli and I... just another day in the neighborhood.

I love you so much, 
Sister Robinson