Best Week Ever!

This week we were so amazed to be able to witness SO many incredible blessings and miracles! It's like the scripture Malachi 3:10 says:

" Bring ye all the [faith, strength, and energy] to the [Lord]... and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out blessing[s], that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

The blessings we saw were not just physical, but also spiritual! It truly is the Work of Salvation that is being put into place in this part of the vineyard J

Service:

-We were able to go and 'heart attack' Sister Shoemaker's door for her birthday (the best member missionary) and she loved it! 

-We helped a less-active's non-member family move!  It was great to be able to get on a ladder and help haul out some wood from the garage. We got to talk to their neighbors and they said they will use the missionaries in the future! They loved how fast we moved everything... But I believe they felt the spirit J 

Here's a funny story:

Last week I was kneeling by my bedside before going to bed and was praying to Heavenly Father.  A random thought came across my mind about fruit and I said to myself, "I haven't had fruit in a while... hmmm... We'll get some on Monday! Sorry Heavenly Father... Please help us as we help Sandra..." I kid you not. I have never received so much fruit in my entire life! Everywhere we would go and visit people, they would give us fruit! Our neighbor across the street, AL, waved his hand at us and told us to come over and gave us grocery sacks of pears from his trees in his backyard. We even got some from a less-active we visited last night (who is now returning).  We laughed and laughed so hard whenever someone would say, "Here you go sisters!" and pull out a bag of fruit!  Just like Malachi's scripture, no room to receive it! Wow! It was a funny lesson we learned this week J

Investigators:

-Brian is doing great! He loves reading the Book of Mormon stories we gave him and is praying every day! He came to church on Sunday for all three hours! YES!

Here is a really neat story! We were going over to visit Brother Macdonald and share the Restoration with him to start from the beginning and feel his strong testimony.  He opened up the door and said, "Hello Sisters!  I brought a friend to come today.  Meet Marta!" Marta was sitting on the couch and just had the biggest smile on her face!  Marta is a best friend of Michael Macdonald and have been for years. She is a very strong Catholic and was so excited to meet with us. We taught the Restoration and she asked, "Please tell me why you don't drink coffee, tea, or alcohol."  We briefly explained why and about Joseph Smith. She then said that she has some health issues that no one really knows about and that the doctor said those exact words not to do: don't smoke, drink, have caffeine or tea. After he said that, she instantly thought of Mormon's and was so curious why!  She hasn't drank those things much anymore, except for her tea.  After we shared our testimonies with her, she said, "That's it!  No more tea for me!  Michael, do you want it?" We looked at Brother Macdonald and he said, "No... I don't drink that stuff. Can I get you water?" I couldn't stop smiling J Ahhh... Long story short... The Restoration lesson was incredible and she felt the spirit after reading Moroni's promise.  She told us that she really feels and knows that Joseph Smith was a prophet!  "I wonder why he's not a prophet in my church!" The only thing is, she is just really attached to her church and didn't accept a Book of Mormon. We're excited to teach the Plan of Salvation this week and see what she thinks.

Returning Members:

-Breaking News everyone! We got Sister Phelan's rum off of her and she is now living the Word of Wisdom and is free!  We are so proud of her and we know that she is too.  Most of all, we know Heavenly Father is! 

-We dropped by Brother Macdonald his picture of Christ and when we were there, he said, "Sisters... I have a question." "Yes Brother Macdonald?" "I was wondering... How do I pay my tithing? I really want to do that, could you help me?" "YES Brother Macdonald! We will..." "Oh yeah!! Guess what!! I found in the Book of Mormon where it talks about the Priesthood and Ammon and..." Sigh. We love Brother Macdonald! J 

Referrals Rained from Heaven:

-We received SO many media referrals that texts were coming in like crazy to drop off Book of Mormons and Bibles to people! Here are a couple of incredible people we met!

• First: Richard Chan--He went to the Polynesian Cultural center for a vacation for a couple of weeks with his dad, he wandered over to the church next door. He requested missionaries (us) to deliver a Book of Mormon to him to read. He was so touched by the spirit and said to us, "I really want to help the church out with any service. What can I do to help the church?" He is incredible!! We are excited to start teaching him J
• Second: Dave Johnson--He requested a Bible! We went to his home and he said that he reads the Bible every day and he said that it's so used and old that it fell apart on him. While reading the Bible online, an ad popped up on the side to request a new Bible from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He loved how it said Christ in it and did it immediately! He was so excited to see us and is ecstatic that we'll bring him a large print this week for him. After saying that he said, "You are so nice! When you come back with the Bible, we'll talk about what you share!"  
• I could go on and on…So many referrals from online, members, and non-members even!

Chinese Exchange:

I was able to go on exchanges with Sister Penrod and Sister Kuo. They are the Mandarin Chinese Sisters in Mississauga. AH! It was one of my favorite exchanges!  One of the highlights was sitting in a lesson with the sisters as they taught one of their incredible investigators named Chad.  I was able to follow along (somehow) to what they were saying and be able to--not only feel--but, to see the spirit working with Chad as the sisters taught about Faith and Repentance. Later that night when we played badminton (yes... The Chinese people play badminton at the church once a week--FUN!) Chad began to tell me that he wants to serve a mission and we began talking with how he came to know more about God and Jesus Christ. In the end... He told me about his father's death a year ago and how he began to read the Bible.  It was so incredible! I am so grateful for the spirit. Truly... It's everything! As I look at those I meet here, I see everyone as a precious spirit of our Heavenly Father J 

ESL Miracles:

After our ESL class on Saturday, we invited all of our students to the kitchen and gave them lasagna we cooked for them. As we talked in the kitchen, Hatem said, "Sisters! Could we all 'hang out' another day this week other than ESL to talk and learn more?" (Not only did this make me happy, but that he used one of our vocabulary words! So proud of him) I then pulled out a Restoration pamphlet and told him what we would be talking about and three of them said yes! We are going to start teaching some of our ESL students about the gospel!! I am SO excited J

Speaking of miracles, I just got off of the phone with a lady named Osha who had met with missionaries a long time ago and told me, "I just felt the spirit come over me and I felt like I should call!" It's been years and she just found our number after she felt the spirit! I can't wait to see what's in store when we visit her! 

Overall... We were so blessed to see the Work of Salvation bring about countless miracles! We literally cannon balled into the work that Heavenly Father wants us to be doing here in the Canada Toronto Mission. With 6 new investigators, 22 lessons, investigators attending church, and working with the ward to help many others come unto Christ... It was the best week!!

Hold to the Rod!!

I honestly love being a missionary J I have never been so happy my entire life!  I know what Lehi says is true about partaking of the fruit of the gospel "whose fruit was desirable to make one happy... and as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy” (1 Nephi 8:10,12).  The gospel is SO joyful!! It reminds me of the talk "Living the Gospel Joyfully" by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. He says, "Walking in the path of discipleship does not need to be a bitter experience. It “is sweet above all that is sweet.”  It is not a burden that weighs us down. Discipleship lifts our spirits and lightens our hearts. It inspires us with faith, hope, and charity. It fills our spirits with light in times of darkness, and serenity during times of sorrow. It gives us divine power and lasting joy." As disciples of Christ--remember to be joyful. You have something that brings eternal happiness that lots of others do not have! Remember to reach out and share that joy with those who are in need of it at this time. I know that as you do so, you will also experience joy "...that there shall not be room enough to receive it." I know the gospel is true with all of my heart J

Until next time...

Sister Robb

Until next time...

Sister Robb