The Best 18 Months For My Life!

NOVEMBER 17, 2014

Hey y’all,

This is it! 2 days to go! I can’t believe it! I am really nervous, as is expected. There is so much ahead, but I know I can do it with the things that I have learned! I had this moment the other day that I realized that I am almost an RM. I can’t believe it’s almost over. It’s really an amazing feeling to serve a mission and see so much of what is in the world and to see people change and grow and come to love the Savior and use His redeeming power. Sister Best and I were talking this morning about why we came on a mission, and I was reminiscing on the feelings I had as I decided to go. I hung on to those feeling as I went through rough days, and as I went through joyful times, too. MISSIONS ARE AMAZING! From Norman to Moore to Lawton to Stillwater, it’s been an amazing 18 months. Like President Walkenhorst always says… “If this is the best 18 months/2 years of your life you need to get a life, it should be the best time for your life!” He stresses that this experience helps us for the rest of our lives to be able to live and share the gospel throughout our lives! It has been great for my life! I am so grateful for all the support y’all have shown to me! Thank you thank you!

I know that this is the true gospel of Jesus Christ! I know that Heavenly Father knows us by name as He did Joseph Smith’s in the sacred grove. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and testifies of Christ. I know that it helps us come closer to Christ. I know it because I have felt it in my own life and in the lives of others around me that have taken the time to try it! I am grateful for a living prophet who called me to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma! I know he is inspired and led by God, our Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ! I know I can’t comprehend all things, but I am grateful for the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and Redemption and that I know where I am headed after this life and where I came from and my purpose. I know how we can change with Christ’s help and best of all, as I have shared these truths with others, I have felt more joy than ever! I love Oklahoma and the people here. I love my Savior and I am eternally indebted to Him!

Love you all! Hug you soon!

Love,

Sister Roberts

PS…The Pics: It snowed on Sunday! We froze to death (don’t worry we got it fixed) and we went to the temple for baptisms with Carla! #greatlastweek

Okie for Life!

NOVEMBER 10, 2014

Hey y’all!

Well, I can’t believe how fast time is flying and where it is! I’m in awe that this is my last week in Oklahoma. I just can’t believe it. I’ll be honest, it doesn’t feel real and hasn’t sunk in quite yet, which is good. It probably won’t feel real until next Thursday when I get on the airplane. AH! Until then, we have TONS to do!

This week we went to Enid for their Zone training meeting and exchanges. On Tuesday, we went to the city for MLC. I was the only one there going home this transfer out of the MLC missionaries. Everyone just made jokes at me about going home… even Sister Walkenhorst!! haha It was hilarious, and I gave my departing testimony. The Assistants gave all of us a new standard of excellence with our key indicators that is really high. We are so excited to push ourselves even more and to see tons of miracles! On the people… LeRoy is doing really well! He finished the Book of Mormon (children’s one) because he has a hard time reading and he said he’s going to go through it again, but use the actual Book of Mormon as he reads it! The Duffy’s are in the process of setting their baptismal date, but Channing, the 9-year-old, came to the baptism of an 8-year-old in the ward, so she got to see what it looked like! We are going to the temple with Carla this week to do baptisms and we’re so excited! This week Sister Best and I worked our tails off! So many appointments fell through, but it always led to another place that we were supposed to be. I have a testimony of that, and it has helped me in times when things don’t go well, even in life. To look and see that God has another way or place we should be, that will ultimately make us happier. We were out with Sister Spencer, a young awesome mom in our ward. Side note, all these young moms are only like a year or two older than we are, and it’s tripping me out! Anyways, we took her out with us and all our scheduled appointments fell through, so we asked her if there was anyone else she knew who we could visit. She said she had been given a couple names from the roster to go check on that no one knew anything about. So we drove over there and ended up finding 3 inactives on one street. #miracles. Also, church was amazing… 9 of our less actives came and some are really wanting to come back! I got to play the piano for primary since the pianist was out of town and that was SO FUN!

I LOVE MY MISSION! I love all the people we work with and the members. They all make me so happy. I’m sad this is my last week, but all we can do is live it up! So, that’s the plan! 🙂 I’ll be an Okie for life!

I love y’all!

Sister Roberts

No Coincidences

NOVEMBER 3, 2014

Hey y’all!

What a week! It’s been busy busy and it’s going to get busier here. We had two exchanges this week, a ward party and many miracles!  Here are some to name a few:

We were coming back from Perry, one of our outlying towns, and we stopped at Subway for dinner. We started talking to the lady making our sandwiches and she was a hoot. She said she had met with missionaries in Texas. Of course we kept asking questions and she totally told us she knew Joseph Smith was a prophet! We are going to start meeting with her when she moves away from her abusive boyfriend. She is moving to Perry, which is our area! #miracles

We were visiting one of our less active families, the Misikans, and the Grandma told us that her granddaughter is interested in learning about the Church and being baptized! But what is cool about that, is that we had found her mom’s teaching record from like 6 years ago, and I felt like we needed to find them. #miracles

One of our members was working and a lady who lives in her apartment complex started asking her questions about the church and asked for some pamphlets. What is cool is that they have a lot in common and their paths have crossed many times. #miracles

At the ward party, tons of people brought friends and told us about it before the party so we could look for them! There were also a lot of part member families who came! #miracles

Phil, Carla’s (RC) husband bore his testimony in fast and testimony meeting! He is so strong in the Gospel and coming back full force! #miracles And we’re going to the temple to do baptisms with them next week!!

I am so grateful for miracles. Those unexplained things that happen, the people that cross your path, the promptings that come throughout the day, and the members who open their mouths and share what they love with their friends. This is the Lord’s work and He is in charge, therefore we cannot fail. It truly is impossible to fail while you are on the Lord’s errand. He loves us all and will help you as you ask Him.

I love y’all SO MUCH!

Sister Roberts

Go Cowboys!

OCTOBER 27, 2014

Hey y’all!

This week was so crazy! Sister Best and I have been working our tails off! On Tuesday we went to Woodward for exchanges. We had interviews with President, too, and that was good! President asked me what my goals are for the end of my mission. He was really helpful and gave me good advice. I can’t believe it’s coming so soon already!

Side note, I got sick on Saturday and “passed out” for like an hour. I had a fever and was super nauseous, but it got better after some sleep…thankfully!! It was Sister Best’s birthday on Saturday, too, which made it a fun day, minus me getting sick. Luckily, Sister Barlow, one of the office sisters, was on splits with us for the weekend, so she kept Sister Best company while I was out. Sister Barlow is awesome, and it was so fun to have her with us!!

We also met with Carla and set up her new member lessons. We are going with her to the temple to do baptisms on the 8th and are so excited! She is a rockstar and is working hard towards the temple next year.

Last week was OSU’s Homecoming week. Homecoming is HUGE here. On the Friday night before the game there is a “Walk Around” where each of the Sororities and Fraternitiesbuild a huge float looking thing in front of their house, and 90,000 people come to walk around and look at them. We got to OYM there and it was nuts!! So overwhelming and fun at the same time. One lady told us our faith wasn’t real…haha…thanks a lot! We did get some referrals though! We also went to the parade on Saturday and talked to people! Lots of contacting! It was great! Although OSU lost, it was still fun to be involved in all the Homecoming activities and talk to some great people!

LeRoy has also set a baptismal date for December 13th! We are so excited for him and really think he’s going to make it! He is doing everything to work towards it!

I have been thinking lately about how grateful I am for the Holy Ghost. The Spirit truly works miracles! I know that it teaches, comforts, reveals, and directs us. I have seen people completely change their nature with the help of Christ through the Spirit. It’s been cool to see LeRoy change over time as he has been reading the scriptures, praying and coming to church. I love this video on the Spirit! Watch it!  https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-01-001-feeling-the-holy-ghost?lang=eng This was the biggest question I had coming into my mission, and it’s been amazing learning, feeling and testing to know how I feel the Spirit! It’s so important in this life to know how the Spirit works, because that is how we know what is true!

I love y’all so much! Have a glorious week!

Sister Roberts

Sprinting Hard

OCTOBER 20, 2014

Hey y’all!

This week was good and super busy. Sister Best…really is the best! We get along great and have had a lot of fun! This week we met with LeRoy, and he is praying about Dec. 13th for a baptismal date! He has addictions to overcome, but is working hard! Michael, one of our members, and his fellowshipper, taught the Doctrine of Christ to LeRoy and us. It was so cool to see how into it LeRoy was when one of his friends was teaching. We also met with Darion, a Jehovah’s witness, and talked about that for a while. It was interesting, and we testified a ton of The Book of Mormon 🙂

This week was tough and miraculous at the same time. I think the Lord has just been trying and stretching me a lot during this final stretch of my mission. I got my travel/plane plans on Saturday and made a solid commitment to the Lord that I was going to finish strong. One of my companions made a good comment that at the end of your mission you think you’ve run out of energy, you’re so tired and worn out, so that’s when you completely rely on Christ’s strength to help pick you back up and keep running. I apply so much of life to running since I was very involved in it. At the end of a race, 3 miles in, you are so tired, but know that everything you do now will effect how you finish. That 0.1 mile is critical: you sprint it. Even when you have no energy you still push through it and are given a boost of energy just before you practically collapse at the finish line. I always knew I put my all into the race if, at the end, I almost passed out, and I usually almost did. I’ve always wanted the end of my mission to be like this and now it’s show time! haha I love my new companion and all her wonderful strengths, too! I’ve loved my mission and all the great things it has taught me. I am honored to be a missionary!

Sorry this e-mail is really short, but life is great and time is short! I love y’all a ton!

Love,

Sister Roberts

Crazy Week

OCTOBER 13, 2014

Hello y’all!

This week was CRAZY! Let me just say. Sister Pagliaro, one of the Hermanas, went home for health reasons so we were in a trio and it was rough. We had to balance out 2 areas. It was really hard, but we made it!! haha Sister Morrell is on her way home this Thursday, which means I need a new companion… drum roll…. for my LAST COMP…. HERMANA BEST!!! I’m SO SO SO SO excited! She’s one of my favorite sisters. She is from SLC and is so great! We’re going to hit the pavement hard, because this is going to be a really busy last transfer! We have lots to do in 5 weeks!

This week we saw a lot miracles both in English and Spanish. We found a Spanish family with a little 9-year-old girl named Yenny. She and I read Dora books because she is trying to learn English and I obviously need to learn Spanish. 😉 We also had a really great lesson with LeRoy. He doesn’t read very well, so we got him a Book of Mormon picture book, and he read 5 chapters. He said church really spoke to him this week! It was great! Things with the members are going really well, too, which makes a big difference! I love my mission so much! I’m just so used to everything now, it’s my life! I love this work and the Gospel. There is so much pure joy that comes through living it and loving it.

I had a cool experience this week with prayer. I was really struggling, so I went into the closet and just got on my knees and started praying. I really opened up to Heavenly Father and told him everything I was feeling and just talked to Him like I would talk to my family. By the end of the prayer, I felt so much better and felt more peace than I had in a while. It’s the peace that passes all understanding for sure! It was so cool and it strengthened my testimony enough for me to know that Heavenly Father listens to prayers…and not only listens, but answers. I’m so grateful for Him and the relationship I’ve strengthened with Him and also with Jesus Christ. For me, it’s these little experiences that build up into my testimony of God. But it’s honestly when I put forth the effort to do something about it. When I want help from God. But as I let Him carry, help, and strengthen me I find that I am so happy! Let Him in!

Life is good! Thanks for all y’all do!

Love always,

Sister Roberts

Crazy Busy Week!

OCTOBER 6, 2014

Hey y’all!

This week was a great one! SO busy, but still amazing!

On Monday and Tuesday we were in Enid for exchanges. One of Sister Morrell’s recent converts, Gene, died last week, so we went to the funeral in Enid. It was interesting because another church put it on, and it wasn’t very happy or hopeful. I haven’t been to a lot of funerals in my life, but I noticed a distinct difference in the spirit and message of this one and the ones that I have been to. It wasn’t really about this man’s life or any hope of the resurrection, just about being saved and promoting the pastor of the church. It hit me again that the Gospel and the restored church provides such peace and hope for a “glorious resurrection,” a knowledge of where we go after this life, that it’s another step in the eternal progression and that families truly are forever. I was able to go with the Enid Hermanas that night and help them work their area since their area is closing at the end of the transfer. Then on Tuesday, I went with Sister Drinkall in the Enid English area. We helped at the Catholic soup kitchen and that evening went to their Volunteer Appreciation Dinner. It was so interesting! We all said the Lord’s prayer before the meal. Good thing I have it memorized 🙂 haha! I love Oklahoma and how religiously diverse it is! I love the good people who are making a difference in their communities because of their commitment to their Lord and Savior. I feel such hope being around these good Christian people in this crazy world.

Wednesday, we went to the Mission Leader Conference which was great! We compiled a book of birthday messages for Sister Walkenhorst from the missionaries in the mission and presented it to her during lunch! We sang “Happy Birthday” to her when she walked in the cultural hall, and after we sang, President bent over and gave her a big kiss. The Elders went wild. haha. She is amazing! I love the Walkenhorsts! They are so down to earth and personable. President says the funniest things. I think we could make a quote book of all the random lines he says. On the way back from MLC, we exchanged with the Edmond sisters. Sister Curtis was with me! We saw the Duffys and taught the kids about tithing. Their attention span is small, but they got it! The next morning was my birthday, (PS…Thank you to ALL who sent cards and packages! I felt so LOVED!). We drove to Edmond that morning and watched “Meet The Mormons”. President is going around the whole mission showing it before it comes out. It was SOOOOO GOOD! Everyone needs to go see it. Very inspiring. Then we went out to lunch at Fuzzy’s Tacos. The day was great! The Weiermans made me a pink cake. It was so cute!

On Friday we did exchanges with the Stillwater 1st sisters. I was with Sister McKenzie. We had a sweet lesson with LeRoy. He is struggling with knowing what to do about his job and everything, so he received a blessing, then we talked about how to recognize answers to prayers and how the Spirit works. Then….he came to General Conference on Sunday morning and LOVED it! And the first talk by President Eyring was on…..receiving personal revelation! I was in shock. So inspired. He is excited and his heart is softening so much! Speaking of conference, wasn’t that amazing!? I loved it, and it felt so good to listen to the prophets and general authorities. I loved the music, too. I loved President Uchtdorf’s talk on the 4 things we need to do to for answers (search the word of God, ponder the words of the prophets, ask with a sincere heart and ACT!) You can probably understand why a missionary would like this, but I realized that most of what was talked about in Conference, I will soon have to apply to life at home. I found so many good reminders of things to prepare for, and things to do and focus on. It’s easy to slip into a routine of just doing things or skipping these important habits, but they’re our spiritual food and protection. Elder Scott talked about this too! I am so so so grateful for the Gospel! It’s the best thing in my life!

I love y’all!

Sister Roberts

HE KNOWS US

Carla’s Baptism!

SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

Hey y’all!

This week was SO great! Glorious! It started on Tuesday morning by going to Woodward, Oklahoma for an exchange. Woodward is where the sister missionary was killed last year while riding her bike. The area had been closed for the sisters until a couple transfers ago. It was a really good experience with Sister Cardon. We had a lot of fun! We then the next morning at 5:30 headed on our way back to Stillwater for Zone Conference, but our car battery died at a gas station. We were like, “ahhhh no!” Apparently, the car had been having issues so this wasn’t new. We asked a man nearby if he had jumper cables, but he didn’t, so I just said a prayer in my mind and told her to try starting it again and…. it started and we made it on time! What I thought was interesting was that I tried hard to exercise pure faith that the Lord would help us in whatever way was best, doubting nothing. I’m not trying to say I have perfect faith, because sometimes it is hard to believe something will happen. But I tried hard to not let those doubts enter my mind. As we drove away, I looked up at the stars (which were easy to see in the small town), and I felt a sense of closeness with my Heavenly Father, that He knew my name and He cared enough to answer the prayer of two sister missionaries in Woodward, Oklahoma on their early way to a Zone Conference. It was a testimony builder that the Creator of all those stars, which is impossible to see or comprehend, knows my name, heard me and answered us. What if the car hadn’t started…does that mean He doesn’t care? No!! We get questions like this almost every day, and as we understand the Plan of Salvation more and more in our lives, we understand that things happen how they should if we are doing our best. Mom made a really good comment in her e-mail to me that when we are keeping our covenants, things will all work out! It is true, in the best way. I really appreciate this mindset especially as I near the end of my mission (7 weeks :/) that all will work out! My mindset has changed because I’ve served a mission. It has helped me to see more clearly what matters most and what I need to do with my life! I’m grateful for those small moments that change my life and build my testimony.

At the Zone Conference, President talked about asking questions and listening. I’ve really been trying to implement that! Last night, we had a lesson with a returning less active member who was going to teach us the Plan of Salvation. We were sitting on his apartment porch, and his neighbor, Christian, came out to smoke. She is a former investigator. Sister Morrell and I were pretending to be investigators…Sister Morrell was being the devil’s advocate, and I was interested. Even Christian was getting into it and was defending and teaching us with Michael. It was really cool, and in the end she said we could come back to teach her! #miracles! So it is a testimony to the fact that asking questions really works and they learn from themselves! For example, I asked, “Well what if I feel like I have repented but I don’t feel forgiven, do I have to forgive myself?” Christian blurted out, “That’s MY problem!” #spritled It was so cool! Going back to Zone Conference, I gave my departing testimony to the missionaries. It was really humbling, because I don’t feel like an old missionary that has been out for 16 months. Crazy!

We also had Carla’s baptism on Saturday, it was GLORIOUS! She was beaming and so excited! The whole program was wonderful, and her husband was able to baptize her, so that was another miracle! She was emotional and so happy! I was able to play a violin duet with our RS president which was a lot of fun! The Women’s Broadcast was also that night and was so good. Very uplifitng! Heavenly Father loves you and the temple is the place to be!

The Gospel is true y’all!

Love, Sister Kenz

Mowing the Elders’ lawn for them #charitywars

P-day v-ball!

Habla Espanol?

 (Carla & me!)

SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

Hello Family and Friends,

I can’t believe that it is the end of September! Time seems to be flying by faster than ever. Stillwater is getting cooler every day with occasional rainstorms (aww yeah!). I really enjoy it here. It’s kind of outdoorsy and beautifully green! The campus is gearing up for Homecoming. Apparently, homecoming here is a HUGE deal, so we’re excited for there to be tons of people around, and we have some fun plans to help the sisters on campus with a booth and other fun things!

(helping at booth on campus)

Carla is going to be baptized this Sunday! We are so excited for her. Her thirst for knowledge grows with every day. She keeps her nose in church books all the time. It’s so cool to see and hear about her life and how she’s changed and how it brought her to this point. She is mostly excited to go to the temple in a year, but we are planning a trip early October to do baptisms for the dead with her.

This week, I was also able to go on two exchanges (with Hna Best and Hna Anderson). Ironically, both of them were in Spanish areas… okay and I’ll tell you now, I don’t know any Spanish. I know a basic conversation, and can understand some, but not much, but the cool thing is being able to feel the Spirit even when you don’t know exactly what is going on. I was able to have my testimony translated, so hopefully they could feel the spirit of that! Going Spanish is like a different mission experience. I love it though! I learned a lot from Sister Best and Sister Anderson. Sister Best is an amazing missionary. She is very spirit led and doesn’t let things stress her out. Sister Anderson is so much fun to be around. We live in the same house, but it was fun to hear her going off in Spanish.

We also went to Enid for their Zone’s Specialized Training Meeting. We gave a training on “Our Purpose as missionaries in the Plan of Salvation.” It went really well and there was a lot of participation (usually a good sign haha).

I’m really grateful for my Heavenly Father’s, Jesus Christ’s and the Holy Ghost’s help in my life. I have seen such a change of heart in myself as I have more fully dedicated myself to the Gospel. I am so happy and feel so much peace in my life. I’ve pondered about what it truly means to come unto Christ. As it says in Moroni 10:32: “Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.” I have realized that coming unto Christ also involves keeping our baptismal covenants…to keep the commandments, love God, serve God, serve others. When we do good around us, we are blessed with His Spirit. Also, in the sacrament prayer in Moroni 10:4: ” O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.” I love how it says “may” in the prayer above. That the Holy Ghost may be with us if we do those things. I have realized that as we do these things, we are blessed with the peace and happiness that comes through the Spirit. I am just loving it here more and more every day. I have been reflecting a lot on these past 16 months and pondering about all the things I’ve learned and the ways the Spirit has touched me and others and the miracles I’ve seen. I love it with all my heart! I love y’all so much! I hope everyone has a great week ahead! I know we do: Zone Conference, exchanges, General Women’s Meeting….yay! Love y’all!

Love,

Sister Roberts

 (Stilly 2nd Ward missionaries!)

Top of the Mountains

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Family and Friends,

This week was pretty nuts! Very, very busy….which is always good 🙂

Carla is doing fabulous! She is getting ready for her baptism on the 27th and is so excited! We watched “Mountain of the Lord” with her and talked about temples. She loves the temple and is SO excited to go there after her baptism. She is so sincere and honest with us. Phil, her husband who is a member, is getting more and more excited as well and opening up to us. It’s cool to see the change. Apparently, a year ago Carla was not very interested in the Gospel, but her heart has been softened and she decided it was time for her to be baptized! I feel so blessed to be a part of these miracles!

Larry, another investigator, came to the church where we took him on a church tour. He really funny. He is black, from the South, loves cooking and works at Buffalo Wild Wings. He is pretty sincere but still has a lot of Word of Wisdom issues to overcome.

Another investigator named LeRoy is overcoming Word of Wisdom issues, too! We have a lot of that here. He’s funny and very Okie!

I haven’t met a lot of people still, but I already love serving in Stillwater! It’s been a blast! Stake Conference was this weekend and was themed “Hastening The Work of Salvation”…the Saturday evening session was mainly about missionary work, and Sunday focused on the temple . It was really inspiring! I made a deeper commitment to be diligent about my temple attendance after my mission as well as to do my own part in hastening the work of salvation.

I pondered this week about the temple since it was quite the theme of the week. I’m SO grateful for temples and how they bless us. I like this quote by President Boyd K. Packer: “When members of the Church are troubled or when crucial decisions weigh heavily upon their minds, it is a common thing for them to go to the temple. It is a good place to take our cares. In the temple we can receive spiritual perspective. There, during the time of the temple service, we are ‘out of the world. Sometimes our minds are so beset with problems, and there are so many things clamoring for attention at once that we just cannot think clearly and see clearly. At the temple the dust of distraction seems to settle out, the fog and the haze seem to lift, and we can ‘see’ things that we were not able to see before and find a way through our troubles that we had not previously known. The Lord will bless us as we attend to the sacred ordinance work of the temples. Blessings there will not be limited to our temple service. We will be blessed in all of our affairs.” (“The Holy Temple,” Ensign, Feb. 1995)

I have felt this in my life. Every time I have been able to attend the temple here on my mission, I usually have something that is weighing heavily on my mind. I have a greater eternal perspective there, which is something that only the Spirit of the Lord can bring while in the temple. I know it allows us to re-enter the world with a better mindset, more committed to the Gospel and to being obedient. I know when we attend as often as we can, we will be blessed with this. Just as Isaiah 2:2 says, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.”

I love the Gospel so much! I love being a missionary! When in a lesson yesterday, I was thinking about how grateful I am for this unique experience.

Love y’all a ton!

Sister Kenz