Dec 2, 2013 Letter - 7 Miracles

¡Buenas tardes familia!

Brrr...who would've thought that I'd be so cold in Honduras?

Wait, what? Cold in Honduras? Yes family, friends, and dearly beloved pets, I was cold this past week in Honduras. I never thought that this day would come, but it did. Let me explain.

This past Wednesday it started to rain. With the rain, came a cool breeze. We were talking with our 'cocinera' at lunch at she told us that there was a cold front coming in that would last for 72 hours. We were a little surprised but told ourselves, "How bad can 'Honduras cold' be?" As we walked home from lunch to study, the rain started coming down harder and the cool breeze became a cold wind. That was when it all began.

For the past 5 days it hasn't topped 70 degrees here in Santa Cruz. I swear there were some days when it didn't top 60 degrees (for Honduras, that's like 20 degrees). The sun didn't come out from behind the clouds for 5 days straight and it was almost always sprinkling rain. The nights were cold to the point that one family gave us extra blankets to keep warm. Some mornings we studied with sweaters and blankets and walked around all day with sweaters. Showering was almost impossible seeing as the water was basically recently-melted ice. The roads were covered in mud and we almost slipped 100 times. 

Sounds rough, huh? Well, it wasn't. I loved every minute of it! :) What a nice break from the constant heat and sun. Today the sun came back out and it's starting to heat up once again. 

Well, this week flew by so fast I almost don't remember what happened. We worked hard once again and saw some of the fruits of our labors in miracles that occured. 

Miracle #1: Jensy was baptized yesterday! What a happy day for her and her family. I hope and pray that one day through her example her whole family can come back to church. She's a strong young lady that can do amazing things if she puts her mind to it.

Miracle #2: Fabiola was baptized yesterday! Wait, what? Who's Fabiola? Good question. Fabiola is the 16 year old daughter of Lilian Corea who was baptized a few weeks ago. While she wasn't open to the missionaries at first, she's been going to church for a few weeks now and has found a few friends that have helped her feel fellowshipped. This past Thursday Lilian called us and said, "Fabiola wants to get baptized." We talked with her the next day, found out she knew all the lessons, and baptized her yesterday. What an amazing miracle! The Lord truly touched her heart.

Miracle #3: I had a Thanksgiving Dinner this week! Who would have thought? Well this Wednesday we were with la Familia Flores and they offered to have us over for their Thanksgiving Day Dinner. Though it wasn't anything grand like in Utah, we still had oven-roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, rice, salad, and homemade orange juice. Afterwards we went around the table and shared what we were thankful for. I told them I was thankful for the amazing family that I have. The whole evening was truly a miracle.

Miracle #4: I found Christmas lights in my house! The other night I was searching for instructions to the portable DVD player in the empty box and when I opened it up, I saw a strand of Christmas lights! I almost couldn't contain my excitement as I rushed to the nearest outlet to plug them in to see if they worked. To my surprise, they still worked! So, thanks to missionaries of the past, our house looks a little more festive :)

Miracle #5: Yesterday after lunch we were calling people to remind them of our appointments. With every call, we discovered that all of our plans had fallen through. My companion got a little discouraged and sat down on his hammock and didn't respond to my questions of what we were going to do. A little frustrated, I said a prayer in my heart to receive guidance to plan the rest of our day. I felt the inspiration to look through a list of members that we have in our Area Book. As I did so, I started listing families, both active and less-active, that we could visit. With that list of people we set out to work. The second family we visited greeted us with open arms and smiles. The first thing the sister said was, "What a miracle that the missionaries have visited me again!" We read 1 Nephi 8:10-12 with them and asked if there was anyone we could visit. To our surprise she told us that she has 1 sister that she would like us to visit. The Spirit truly guided us yesterday. What a miracle!

Miracle #6: Last night we were approached by a drunkard in the street on our way to an appointment. Normally we just keep walking to avoid any confrontations, but last night we stopped to talk with him. As he told us his life story and his interaction with the church, we noticed a man approach us as well and stop a few feet away. As we started to walk away they both followed us. With time, the drunkard, who kept calling us his "bellos gringitos" or "beautiful little white guys," left us, but the other man kept walking with us. Naturally we started talking with him and found out that he is interested in joining the church. He even invited us to his house. What a miracle!

Well that's about all the time I have to share my miracles with you. Know that there are hundreds more miracles that I experience on a daily basis. I understand even better now what Nephi talks about when he mentions the 'tender mercies of the Lord' that are evident in our daily lives. I challenge each one of us to look for the small miracles every day. :)

Dad, you were right about the weather :) Sounds like the weather is really taking a nose dive in Utah! 20 degrees? I don't think I could handle that right now ;) It sounds like you had a great week. Love you bunches!

Mom, yes, I'm feeling much better. I'm not sure what hit me, but it didn't last more than a few days. I'm up and functioning again! The new house is nice. It's bigger than the other one, but it's a little older. The tiles are super ugly and the paint is horridly colorful, but the bathroom and kitchen are in good shape. We have water every other day, meaning that we bring in water using buckets every other day. The neighbors are kind and like to talk to us on occasion. We cook our own breakfast, pay a sister to make lunch, and the members give us dinner. We wash our own garments, but the rest of our clothes are washed by a sister who lives nearby. Everything works out well! :) Thanks for your concern! Love you!

Eric, I have something to tell you. Ahem. ¡Feliz Cumpleaños! o sea, Happy Birthday! I hope you have a super fantastic birthday. Eat an extra slice of cake for me! You should be receiving a letter soon, but knowing the mail system, you may not get it for a few months... Love you brother!

Well, I must be off. There's still lots to do before the day's over! I love you all so so so much. It may sound cliche and repetative, but I truly mean it. I love you! There's just one more miracle I want to share with you.

Miracle #7: T he fact that Elder Roberts has such an amazing family. You are truly a miracle in my life! :)

Keep being stellar!

Con Cariño,

Elder Roberts

Nov 23 Pictures

Lilian and Skarleth's baptism! Happy day! :)

My nasty mattress that I've been sleeping on for 4 months. Don't worry! I got a new one!

Enjoying the coconuts that we chopped down from our coconut tree :)

The bishop, Elder Remington, and I posing for a photo

The trees we cut down. Phew! Talk about tiring ;)

Nov 23, 2013 Letter

¡Hola familia!

I'm free! Who would've thought that being locked up in your house for three days would make you so anxious to get out? I'm grateful for the opportunity to rest and relax, but I'm ready to work once again.

This week was a week of miracles. Despite the news of the death of Grandma Roberts, I was unusually optimistic and happy, knowing that she wouldn't want me to be sad. I worked hard and long and tried my best to make her proud. 

Elder Remington and I are getting along great. Though we speak more English than we should, I'm learning a lot from him. He's been out longer than I have (he completed 13 months this past week). We've taught some great lessons and have had a few laughs together.

We've been blessed to find a few new investigators that have commited to be baptized in the future. One is named Jensy. She's about 11 years old and belongs to a less-active family. She's been attending church for a while and wants to be baptized. We've been working with her for a week or so now and she's ready to be baptized this Sunday. 

We are also blessed to be teaching la Familia Reyes. Their family consists of the husband, José, the wife, Mayra, and their little son. After watching the Joseph Smith movie at a FHE with their neighbors, José received a testimony that this church is true. He told us that he knows that Joseph Smith was called of God to be a prophet. A few days later Mayra told us that she had a dream that she was in a dark, dreary, and scary place when the Lord appeared to her and told her that she would be visited by two angels who would share the gospel with her. He told her that she should accept their message and she told Him that she would. Both of them are preparing to get married and baptized the 28th of December. What a miracle!

As the week progressed we had the opportunity to help the bishop chop down a few trees in his yard. I think we chopped down about 20+ banana trees and 2 mango trees. The funny part is that we did it all with only machetes. While it took a while, we did it! 

Yesterday I think I experienced the greatest miracle of all. Monday morning I became sick. I got to the point when I could only lay in bed and hope I got better. I had a fever, headache, upset stomach, back pain, body pain, and chills. I only slept a little bit, but I grateful for the opportunity to rest. I woke up one moment to find myself in extreme discomfort. I said a prayer to my Father in Heaven that he would do what He saw best. Almost immediately I felt the Spirit enter my body and comfort me. I felt the presence of angels around my bedside comforting me and helping me along. While the sickness didn't leave me, I knew without a doubt that I could make it through. Today I feel much better and am convinced that in no time I will be feeling back to normal. What a miracle!

I want to share with you this week part of my letter I wrote to President Dester shortly after reading your email last week. In this letter, I express my feelings about the passing of Grandma and the knowledge I have that we'll all see her again.

"I understand that my parents have called you to let you know about my grandmother...My heart has shattered and I'm scrambling to pick up the pieces. My thoughts are running in circles with no direction and words can't describe how I feel. I'm sure you've experienced the loss of a loved one sometime in your life, so I trust you understand. Though the tears are flowing and my eyes are red and swollen, I don't feel complete emptiness. There's a voice and a feeling inside of me telling me something that I know to be true.

"If my grandmother passes away, I will see her again. I know it. There is no doubt in my mind that someday we will see each other again. We will wrap our arms around each other and cry tears of joy. I will tell her how much I missed her, but that I've done my very best to make her proud. 

"President, I know my Savior lives. It is because of His sacrifice that I can see my beloved Grandma again. I will never cease to serve Him with all my heart, might, mind, and strength because He has done so much more for me than I will ever be able to do for Him. He is my Redeemer. He rescued each and every one of us from the chains of death. Through His loving grace, we can be saved. We can be healed. We can live.

"I will not stop working. I will not stop serving. I will make my grandmother proud. I am supposed to be here serving my Lord and God, so that is what I will do. Though I may walk through the valley of death and darkness, I know my Savior Jesus Christ will be with me. He has walked my path alone so that I will not have to. He will lead me to a place that is more glorious than anything I can imagine. My faith is in Him. I will not falter." 

Dad, thanks so much for the pictures. I feel as if I was there. Thank you for helping me feel included. I loved it a lot. I hope you're doing okay. Your testimony is strong and your faith is incredible. Thank you for your example. I love you Dad :)

Mom, we don't have anything planned for Thanksgiving. Just another day in the life of a missionary. :) I hope you all eat an extra slice of turkey for me! Sounds like you had some fun at Parent's Day as well. I bet it was fun to see what Callie's been up to the past few months!

Eric, it sounds like you did great at your piano recital this Monday. Keep up the great work! One day you'll be grateful you can play the piano. Everyone will love you on your mission!

Callie, did you get your birthday letter yet? I have no idea when it's going to come, but I sent it a month ago! Let's hope it comes soon! ;)

Well, I best be off. I've got Santa Cruz to conquer! ;) Best wishes for a wonderful week and a Terrific Tuesday! I love you all bunches and bunches. Keep being stellar :)

Con Muchísimo Amor,

Elder Roberts

P.S. Send my love to all the Roberts family, but especially to Grandpa. Tell him that he's in my prayers and that one day I'll play the organ for him and Grandma again someday. Tell him I love him, more than words can tell :)