Snowy, Snowy Canada!

We have more snow! A storm came in and dropped about 8 new inches and it still is snowing! Crazy, eh?   I love the snow but it makes it more difficult to go proselyting.  I am grateful for the beautiful earth and that is why I just have to work harder than ever to find that one person or family!

‪Not too much has been happening.  We are trying to continually find people to teach during this winter season.  Last week I prayerfully selected a crescent by an elementary school and we knocked on people's doors.  We got about 10 potential investigators!  They are great! We hope we can see them this week and be able to share a lesson or two with them.  Just find, find, find! J  

‪As we were going through some former investigators I stopped at one that said 'Lenny and Charmaine'... I told Sister Turley that I recognized those names and we should stop by!  Come to find out, it was a family who Sister Poettcker and I were trying to see when I first came to Ajax but they never answered the door.  Guess what…they answered the door!  We came back and taught them with a member in the ward and had such a powerful lesson.  We were just planning to teach Lenny but his twin 20 year old sons sat in on the lesson!  It was so good!  Lenny and Charmaine are Jamaicans! They said that they would all come to church next week so we are excited for that and pray they will follow through! 

‪Sister Turley and I went up to Uxbride last week (which is about 50 minutes north of Ajax, which is still in our area) to see a couple of people. The people that Sister Poettcker and I decorated the Christmas tree for (Lee and Greg).  It was really great!  We shared a brief lesson with her non-member husband about how God is our loving Heavenly Father and how the gospel can truly bless us individually and as a family.  He didn't say too much but I knew that the spirit was there and that Lee (the less-active member) was really thinking about what we were saying.  We hope we can go to Uxbridge about every other week to continue helping them and see what we can do!

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Teaching Louis & Faye in their home

Yesterday at fast and testimony meeting, Louis got up and bore one of the sweetest testimonies.  He said that he loves the gospel.  He is getting his patriarchal blessing on February 10th and cannot wait to go through the temple and get sealed on March 5th.  He bore a strong testimony of how to never ever give up and how the gospel is truly such a blessing and it has changed his life. That was huge for him to do!  He said he had a "fire in his chest and just had to go up front to speak!" He also said the opening prayer in sacrament for the first time ever!  They are doing great and I am excited for them! J

Saturday morning personal study was just SOOO good!  Let me just explain my thought process...I was reading in the book "Our Search For Happiness" by Elder Ballard, and in it he tells of his grandfather who, as he prayed fervently for guidance on his mission, was led into a room here the Savior sat.  He tells of the inexplicable joy that overcame him, and the unquenchable love and beauty that came from the Savior.  I began to think of that instance, and Joseph Smith who saw the Father and the Savior standing side by side, and other prophets who have literally seen and talked with the Savior and God face to face.  I imagined all of us in a room where our Father and Christ stood at the head, beckoning to all of us 'come'.  The only problem is, we're all blindfolded.  We can't literally see them. Some are chosen to be leaders and are granted the removal of their blindfold, while the rest of us continue to be aimless wanderers with no sight or direction.  It is through those who do see that Truths are restored and organization is made so that we may experience direction and purpose for ourselves.  The glorious formula is that we don't have to and shouldn't simply accept what those, who claim to be seers, say for Truth, but that we can and should ask the Source Himself, and he will let us know, through the power of the Holy Ghost.  We are all in His presence, we just don't see Him.  In order to feel Him we must humble ourselves and ask, and then listen.  If we ask and then plug our ears and make noise, He's not going to answer, well, He might, we just won't be listening or won’t be able to hear.  I can testify that He does answer. He did when I asked, because I listened, and will continue to do so.  I'm still walking blindly, by faith, but He directs me if I simply listen.  Sometimes we, both members and nonmembers alike, over-complicate life.  It's simple; ask, listen and follow. You must submit that you don't know everything, and you may need help.  Once you realize that, ask for the help, but from the right Source, our Father in Heaven. He knows what's best for you, even when you don't agree.  Submit to His will and follow through.  I can testify with all of the fervency of my soul, that Jesus is the Christ! That our Father Lives, that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is, indeed, the Lord's Kingdom on the Earth again today, and found therein, are the necessary doctrines and principles that, if submitted to, will bring peace, joy, and happiness in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come. Thank heavens I have been blinded all this time that I may become humble and learn to see with my heart!

Heavenly Father loves each of us and that gives me great comfort and peace everyday that I live.  I know my purpose in life and am so grateful for the gospel in helping me receive this knowledge for myself.  I know who I am and I know who I can become because of the gospel.  I am so grateful for the tools in which we have to prepare ourselves spiritually and to become more like Christ everyday.  I am so truly grateful to be in Canada even in the snowy, cold weather!  There is no greater joy right now than to proclaim the gospel! J 

‪Until next time...

‪Sister Robb

I Know What I Know, and It Is True!

What a week of blessings! We found 5 new people to teach this week! It has been so good and I have had some great experiences teaching.

Last preparation day I met a man sitting next to me while I was emailing.  He turned to me and said, "There is something different about you, what is it?"  I was thrilled to be able to tell him that I am a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and I am sharing, with others, the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He found it interesting and wanted to hear more so I set an appointment to meet him at the library the next day.  His name is Abdul (about 25 year old) and he is from Afghanistan.  He is alone in Canada temporarily and said that when I sat down next to him and said hello and asked how his day was, he 'felt something'.  Before we left, I felt prompted to give him a Book of Mormon and I decided to write a note inside of it. The next day, we were able to teach him the restoration and it went really well!  Unfortunately, he is moving in two weeks to another part of Canada to receive a higher paying job to support his family back in Afghanistan. It was an amazing experience to me to know that we need to share the gospel wherever we are at and when we can!  Just by saying hello and asking how he was doing touched his heart and he was open to what I was able to share with him. "Behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass... and bringeth about the salvation of many souls." (Alma 37:6-7)

Later that night, Sister Turley and I were able to stop by a potential investigators home that we had contacted last week. Her name is Laura and her husband’s name is Amit, they are from Nigeria. We were able to teach them twice last week, but the lessons are quite hard.  They are both strong Muslims but respect other religions and said that if they "found the truth, it would change." The first time we taught them, he compared Mohammed to Joseph Smith, but has brought up that he believes that Jesus Christ didn't die, so that has been interesting!  They really are great people and I hope that we can get somewhere with them and help them progress.

Louis and Faye are doing great! They had their patriarchal blessing recommend interviews yesterday!  They are doing really well and are still attending a temple prep classes along with doing Fay's mothers name to take it to the temple in March!  All is well and I will give you more in the future.

We got a call last week from a man saying that we gave him a pass-along card a couple of weeks ago and that he wants to hear more. We arranged an appointment and hopefully will be able to teach him.  What a special experience that will be!  This is quite unusual and rarely happens.

I took Sister Turley on several buses and it was great!  I had the opportunity to talk to many different people and I was able to hand out two Book of Mormons. We actually found a new investigator (Alina) at the GO STATION and she was really interested.  We were able to teach her about prophets and she found it really interesting that we have a living prophet today and about the Restoration.  Unfortunately, she said she will contact us when she has time if she wants to learn more.  I was able to talk to some Pentecostal and Anglican bus drivers who were very nice J It is so fun just to talk to a lot of people and share with them the “GOOD NEWS", the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Yesterday, we stopped by a potential investigators, Marlin, who we had talked to a couple of weeks ago and he was just heading out the door to go and pick up his niece Marlisa (a former investigator who we have been calling and texting to try and meet up with). What a coincidence! J When they walked in I said, "Waguan!" (Otherwise known in Jamican as "hey!") They couldn't stop laughing and instantly we became friends, so that is good.  We were able to teach them the restoration and it was great!  Marlisa is super spiritual and Marlin said that he finds the gospel really simple! Heavenly Father truly does direct us where we need to go.  I am so grateful for the Holy Ghost to lead and guide me.

Which reminds me of a neat story about a potential investigator we have.  Her name is Sher.  During lunch one day while we were eating, I just felt like calling someone from our list to see how they were doing.  Sher’s name jumped off the page and into my heart!  I called up Sher and explained to her, who I was and that I just felt like I needed to call her. I heard her begin to cry on the other end of the line. She said that she had been overwhelmed and loaded with so many things in her life that sometimes she couldn’t even breath.  She owns a catering business, her mom is dying of cancer, and other things that were weighing her down. I was able to listen and to comfort her over the phone.  It was a really tender experience. She said, "I am so grateful you called me. This made my entire week. It gives me goose-bumps to think that you just felt that you needed to call me. Thank you."  So we will be seeing her sometime soon J What a neat experience!  I have learned to always ACT on the promptings from the holyghost! You may never know the impact you make until after you do it.

Overall, it has been a great week!  Canada has SO many people from everywhere across the world practicing SO many different religions.  It's has been interesting to talk to people about their religion and where they come from. The world comes to Canada! (Especially if you are close to Toronto!)  I am so truly grateful for the promptings of the spirit and being able to act on them. I have been able to witness the miracles and blessings of being an instrument for Heavenly Father. J I hope you can feel of my love and adoration for this work. I love being here in Ontario and serving my fellow man.  Being a missionary, a representative of Jesus Christ doesn't mean I push my religion on people, but I have the sacred opportunity to declare what I know to be true, without hesitation and invite all to find out for themselves.  I love my Savior, Jesus Christ.  I love His restored Gospel. I know that this is true! His Church has been restored.  I know this because He has answered my prayers by giving me a witness from the Holy Spirit. I know that this is our Father's work, and what an honor it is that we have all been called, members and missionaries alike, to share this great and Restored message of Truth! I invite each of you to pray for missionary experiences! You may be surprised with how Heavenly Father will answer your prayers.  I love you all!

Until next time...

Sister Robb

At the feet of an Apostle!

‪Where do I even begin, my week has been so good! Maybe for some exciting news, Elder Dallin H. Oaks came to the Canada Toronto Mission and spoke to us on Saturday!  I was so privileged to sit in the front row and listen to an apostle speak.  IT WAS AMAZING!  I wanted to share some brief notes that I loved from this special event.  

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‪*Who am I?  I AM a servant of Christ!  I need to be a 'FULL TIME' missionary.  "It isn't your mission; it is His mission that you are serving for Him.  So you do His work, His way on His timetable." (Elder Oaks)  This is just one thing that stood out to me and has changed my view even more about the opportunity I have here in his vineyard to do His work.  I truly am so grateful I have the opportunity of a lifetime to serve my Savior, Jesus Christ, and to teach His gospel in Canada.  I LOVE MY MISSION! J  I could go on and on about Elder Oaks and this meeting. It was a meeting that I will never forget and I was so blessed to shake his hand and hear inspiring words from an apostle. 

‪We were also privileged to hear from Elder Kacher of the North America Northeast Area and Elder Allard, Area Seventy with Family History.  He said, “I would like to say to each of you, hold onto everything that you have that is good! The gospel is so joyful. Hold onto the light in which you have and seek out even more!”  I love that!

‪While at the 'new members, returning members, and investigators' meeting with Elder Oaks, I was able to have a really sweet moment, seeing a glimpse of the past six months while on my mission.  While at the meeting, Sister Shurtliff (my first companion with me in London) and I were able to talk to Pamala (she was the native lady) and is planning on getting baptized!  She told us what a huge impact we had on her and helped her in ways we didn’t even know! I was able to talk to Johan (from Whitby) and he is doing well and was so happy to see me.  I was able to see Ruby (our current investigator we are helping prepare for baptism) and several others.  I was able to see a lot of people there that I had the chance to teach.  I never knew what impact I had on people until that meeting.  Even though I haven't been able to be at a baptism, it gives me comfort that everything that Heavenly Father is helping me with is helping others come closer to Christ. It was a wonderful experience and brought me so much joy knowing that I am in the service of the Lord.

It was a great week here in Ajax!  First, Ruby (our investigator who I talked about in the middle of December) called us and wanted us to begin teaching yet again. We went over and I really just poured my heart to her.  We then shared the Restoration DVD and talked about it. It was a really neat experience.  Her eyes were washed from the mud and she was able to see the light of the gospel.  She understands why it was Joseph Smith and has even gained a better appreciation for him. We invited her to be baptized and she said YES!  She set a goal of February 21st for her baptism. It was such a strong lesson and what was even more amazing was that she was able to attend the meeting with Elder Oaks.  He also spoke to new members of the church, returned members and investigators who are planning to be baptized. We were able to attend that meeting too!  She heard some things that stood out to her that she really liked and she said she enjoyed the experience. I am so excited to help her prepare for baptism and pray we will do all we can to help her achieve her goal!

‪Louis and Faye are doing amazing! We taught them all 5 lessons! Their next step is meeting with the bishop next week to be able to get their patriarchal blessing soon! J We are helping them right now in preparing a name for the temple to do baptisms for the dead, which will be Faye's mom and Louis already has names! They are doing amazing!

‪I wanted to share of a neat experience that I had last week with prayer.  It was after daily planning one night and I was spiritually, physically, and mentally drained.  It was a rough day and I was beginning to be filled with mix emotions.  Finding myself alone (while my companion was in the washroom), I knelt down on the floor next to our fireplace and began my fervent prayer.  It was a vocal prayer to my Heavenly Father.  I poured out my heart, what I was feeling, my weaknesses, my concerns, inadequacy, and feelings I just needed to get rid of.  After my long, heartfelt prayer, I looked next to me--expecting my companion to be there, because I felt someone putting their arm over me while I prayed.  I began to cry, realizing that I felt Christ's presence kneeling next to me as I was kneeling and offering this sincere prayer to my Heavenly Father.  I could feel the spirit telling me that he was saying, "It's okay, I'm here. You are doing all you can, for I am with you always."  It was a tender experience that I was able to have with my Heavenly Father. 

‪The gospel brings us eternal joy and I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be an instrument in bringing others closer to Christ.  I feel so much Joy in sharing the gospel.  It’s true, all of it!  I know our God is a living, loving Father in Heaven who, because He loves us, sent His Son, Jesus Christ to atone for the sins of the world so that we may, through living the Gospel of Jesus Christ, be able to return to His presence with our families, in peace and joy, for eternity!  I know that these things are true because I have read the evidence of this restored Gospel, the Book of Mormon, and I have prayed and asked my Father if it is true, and He has witnessed it to me by the power of the Holy Ghost, It is true, I know it to be!  How GRATEFUL I am for this knowledge!  How great is our calling to share that, the restored Gospel that is upon the Earth at this time!  Let us share it with all!! 

‪Until next time...

‪Sister Robb

Prayer is a Powerful Tool

Brrrrrrr…..I can say that I was a bit cooold last week!  It hit -22 degrees!  It was a nice sunny day, but it was cold.  When it snows here, we are at the freezing level and the weather feels so nice, but when it's windy and the temperature drops, it's too cold to snow.  Good thing I love bundling up, eh? J I love that no matter how cold it is, we are bringing the warmth of the gospel to people here in Canada!

This week has been great!  Update on Louis and Faye!  They are doing wonderful. We taught them the rest of the commandments and now Faye is trying to get off from working on Sundays from the hospital (which is hard) so I am praying that will happen.  It's really amazing to see someone's testimony grow and blossom in the gospel.  It truly does change their life. While praying at our last lesson, Faye after she said, "Dear Heavenly Father..." she began to cry.  It was such a sincere and heartfelt prayer and the spirit was so strong.  She prayed for the strength to keep going.  After the prayer she said she felt so loved.  What a blessing prayer is in our life. We can go to our Father in Heaven on our knees and ask him direct questions.  We gain peace, love, and so much more!  I know Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers. He loves us so much. He loves it when we talk to him and he loves hearing from us. Prayer is such a powerful tool that we can use to guide us through our journey here on earth.

Here is some exciting news!! We started teaching Dillon, a 10 year old in our ward whose mom is less-active. He is so smart and humble.  We were planning on teaching him the next lesson, the Plan of Salvation, but the spirit told me not to.  We asked him about the restoration and he knew everything!  I then asked if he had ever seen the movie about the restoration and he told us no. Thankfully I had put it in the car earlier that day, so we watched the Restoration movie!  The spirit was so strong!  Afterwards, we asked him how he felt and he said, "It was heartwarming." What 10 year old says that! J We then began to talk about the Holy Ghost and what its role is and how we receive it after baptism.  He then said that he wants to be baptized!!  AH! So we looked at his calendar with him and we talked about March 7^th.  His mom is divorced so he switches from his mom's house (the lady in our ward) to his dad's every other week. So we will be teaching him whenever he is here!  The date may be pushed back, we never know... But that is a goal that he has and we are striving for it J

Lastly, here is more exciting news!  But first, here is the background.  There is a lady in the ward, Sister Brady, who was talking to her friend Rosita (who is a non-member) about the sister missionaries. Sister Brady told her that she should feed the sister missionaries sometime years ago and she has been feeding them each week for about two years now!  Rosita is in her 60’s, is from Ghana and is just the sweetest lady.  I have been able to go over for the past 7 weeks now and have gotten to know her.  Two weeks ago for Sister Turley's first lesson with Rosita, we taught the Restoration to her from the pamphlet.  We had exchanges this week and I was with Sister Warbarton (the sister trainer leader) and we taught the Plan of Salvation to her next.  Sister Brady just recently had a death in her family and Rosita was pretty close to him.  We really didn't know until we went to lunch and were teaching her the lesson.  It was a really tender experience.  In the end, I just bore my testimony and I knew that she felt the spirit.  I invited her to be baptized and she said that she wants to someday! She came to church yesterday for all three hours!!  I am so excited and love Rosita so much.  She calls me her daughter J  Who knows, maybe she has been waiting for me to teach her?  What a blessing it is to be a missionary!

Overall, it's been a great week!  The work of salvation in Ajax is starting to come forth J  The ward is progressing and all is well! Training has been going great and I continue to do my best. Sister Turley is doing great as well! I love her and have loved every minute being with her.

I am so grateful for the gospel in my life.  It is truly such a blessing and I love progressing each day.  The gospel brings me so much joy and I have never been happier in my life! J I am so grateful for the power of prayer and Heavenly Father answering my own prayers.  I invite each of you to kneel down and say a prayer to Heavenly Father. Ask him a specific question! If you don't have one in mind ask him how much he loves you. I can promise you that he will answer you!  Whether it be a prompting or a feeling... he always answers.  I am so grateful for prayer in my life.  Now, back to bundling up and inviting others to come unto Christ!

Until next time...

Sister Robb