Week 68

Korea Town // Episode 2 - Act 1

Monday we went shopping and I sold myself to ramen again... Bought time right? I also bought the mark of a true Spanish missionary, which is Peach Punch Minute Maid... So good! We then we're trying to figure out the whole email thing because my iPad was throwing a tantrum the whole day, saying that I didn't have any more storage space on my iPad, but that the numbers of storage weren't adding up... Stupid thing. We played ultimate with the other elders and we went to yogurt land with Elder H and Elder T, they are really tall. We ended the night with a visit to E and boy... He is getting me all frustrated. 

Tuesday we ,et a lot of new people. We were finally able to get into an apartment building that is always locked to find a new convert of about 1 1/2 of being baptized. Her name is C C. She has REALLY bad health. Like, she has a prosthetic leg and the other leg is super infected and heading towards amputation as well. She has really bad diabetes and she has "experience in this life" (she's really old). We helped her get up the stairs because the complex doesn't have an elevator and she is just so adorable. She laughs at almost everything. We decided that obviously a priest needs to come and bring the sacrament to her. We then went to go and see the B family. We read with them and that was good, the lessons are definitely getting better, but we need to help the environment so much more still. We biked all the way to S, but she isn't doing so good, so we will see what happens. She still has the desire to change, she just doesn't act. We then had dinner with the T family and they are really sweet. They were in 6th ward a while back and so we went off about how cool some of the members are. They are really cool people. We had coordination to finish up the night and the sisters area was whitewashed! The new sisters... Oh my. We have a sister who is from Brazil speaking Spanish and a newbie in her 2nd transfer who is really, really white. They are also VC sisters so they are almost robotic in everything. I think I feel more confident in my Spanish when I hear sister missionaries talk, just because. 

Wednesday we had a couple return appointments from street lessons and so we talked to a lot of people. The lessons fell through cause the person was t there, but hey, it's the life. We swung by to read with the B family again and every time we go by, it gets better... Just not quite there yet, ya know? We ate dinner with W and his mom and W is doing great! He is a less active because he feels that when he was baptized, that the missionaries pressured him into being baptized. He has been saying his prayers and reading in the scriptures and he is just awesome. We had a bishopric lesson set up with the R family, lesson planned out, everything. We then get a text from L saying that she felt that it wasn't a good day to meet with us, so we should just cancel. We said a quick prayer and boom, she said never mind, and that we could come. The sad part was that the bishopric member wasn't going to be there because he was at the church for some reason, but hey, count your blessings right? The lesson was pretty good, I just really hope that one day the R family will progress. 

Thursday was really weird because we had District Meeting this day, I honestly don't know why it changed... Weird. In our district there are only the 3 companionships in 3rd ward. I'm feeling a little detached or alienated from other missionaries right i.e. just cause we can't talk to missionaries outside of our district, so that leaves us with one companionship, and for some reason I feel like they don't listen to me all the way. It is really frustrating sometimes. We saw C C again and told her that we will help her get the sacrament on Sunday's. She is really awesome, I just hopes she feels better and has good days more than bad days. We read again with the B family (trying to stop by more often with shorter visits) and this one had some good moments in it, so there is progress. We were contacting and knocking doors when we talked to a former investigator and showed her a video. She likes it and said that she would like to have us come back. We set up a return appointment and that was nice. We were suppose to go and visit S with a member, but nobody was home, so that was really sad. 

Friday we did our weekly planning because Thursday was district meeting. We then went to go and read I. The Book of Mormon with L and that was good, but I feel like during the lesson she just wanted us to leave ASAP. We stopped by a part member family and it is so difficult because we always try to set something up with them, but they are always like "next week". It's like... Ugh! Might as well just ask for my little sibling to come tech your family, cause that's how long procrastination goes! Just joking... Kinda. We ate dinner and then talked to some people. I was able to finally meet M. She is 14 and a RC. She is super smart and knows a lot. She is just so cool. We reviewed the plan of salvation and basically she taught us everything, it was so cool. That was definitely a blessing being able to meet with her.

Saturday was just a really long day. We had to go to the church to get my iPad completely reset because it was being stupid and said that I was using too much storage, but I wasn't. So Elder R, the tech guy, had to come to the church to help because they put restrictions on and everything. After that we went back to the apartment to start a companion study on charity because this transfer is going to be called Charity Transfer. We went to go and see A and A P, they are two less active teens who we visit every Saturday and they are super cool. They have some good questions that really mean a lot to them, so it's always nice to go and visit with them. After that the day took forever to end, or so it felt. We contacted a lot and shared a lot of videos with people on the street. We talk to a man named L who is a less active member from 20 years ago and he still tells everyone he is Mormon. Funny thing is that he wears a cross... Better a CTR ring right? And he is from Veracruz. He speaks so fast it was intense. On our way back to the apartment we talked to this drunk dude named A1. I shook his hand and oh my, it was covered in... Idk what. He wanted to see the Book of Mormon that I was carrying, MY copy and I was just like "oh no, I really like that copy, I'm almost done with that one, please no" he then asked if he could have MY copy and so we told him that we wanted him to get one for himself. After that convo I think I dumped half a hand of hand sanitizer and let my hand dry.

Sunday was a huge blessing. It started out great, but it was worth it in the end. We really really really wanted the R family to come to church and so we biked early in the morning to go and wake them up. Right as we are locking our bikes up to a pole, we get a text from L saying that they have had a really rough morning and that they can't go. We went to go knock on their door and nobody was home. It was very sad. We had a meeting at 8:00 with bishop because he likes to meet with us. We told him about our investigators and our recent converts and I think I'm starting to understand the bishop's point of view on things. The R family didn't show up to church, BUT the C's, W, and the D L's showed up! It was such a tender mercy. The D L's come up to us (we turned them over to the Lord for a while because they weren't keeping commitments or appointments) after sacrament meeting and said basically that they want us to come back and meet with them. Hopefully they have been prepared enough that this time they will be ready for the message. W came, he is a 17 year old, and he sat with us during all the classes, he is super smart. We also had the C's come to church and they attended the family history class and so they are totally preparing to go and do temple baptisms! The day itself was just full of us talking to people on the street and walking around. We ate dinner with the R's and they are just so awesome.

Hope your week is awesome!

Love,

Elder Roberts

Week 67

Korea Town week 6

Monday was Pday and it was pretty weird. We went to get a haircut and it was alright. The guy talks a lot but hey, it was pretty good, cost 10$ and he seemed really nice, so it was good. We then went back to our apartment and then I took a shower while my companion did... Idk. We cleaned ourselves up and then went to go and email... Shop.. Etc. I bought very little because it was the last week of the transfer and I wanted to save money. We then made plans with the ZLs to go and play basketball and frisbee. It was a little weird, but I feel like I'm just starting to complain right now, so I'm just gonna stop right there. We had a little bit of time left so we went to Boba Time in our area (totally would go back someday) and then we went to go and see W and his brother R. They are less active members and they are struggling with.. You guessed it, church attendance! It was a pretty nice little visit and I enjoyed it. Afterwards the family that we had dinner planned with bailed on us... They weren't even home. We then finally caught M, a recent convert youth, right as her and her mom were leaving their home. We set a time to go back next week.

Tuesday we had this intense study as a mission about the Sabbath day. It is a problem with most areas that the investigators haven't been coming to church and so when it is a big problem, there is normally a study for the whole mission. We studied talks and PMG and it was super good, I took lots of notes. There are so many more ways to keep the Sabbath Day holy that I feel so bad about now! There is a part in PMG that says that our Sabbath Day worship is a reflection of our inner commitment to follow the Savior. Then the real question comes: Am I really committed to serving the Savior? And would people recognize that by the way that I keep the Sabbath Day holy? Then it was time for exchanges. I went on exchanges with Elder W in his area and it was a whole different experience. We talked to a lot of people and I am grateful that I have had experiences on my mission that have helped me be able to relate to others. I learned a lot of patience on the exchange. I learned a lot about truly listening to what others have to say to me and when to talk to them. As a missionary I think it is our responsibility to give everyone the best chance to hear about the restored gospel, which means listening intently to what they are trying to say to us. We had an opportunity to have an improv lesson with this guy named E. We showed him a Mormon message and then got his information and he was kinda interested, it was a tender mercy on a really hot day. We tried to visit a lot of potentials, but nobody was home, it was really sad. This gangster guy came up to us and was really trying hard to intimidate us, and (ok I'm just gonna be completely honest here) Elder W was not the best in that situation. The guy was talking about crazy stuff and he was a little drunk, so of course we should be slower with him and just leave right? Nope. Elder here just started to antagonize him by saying things like "you just think you're so tough huh?" I was like (enter Emoji here). I was almost just gonna go off on him... Oh man. Well after that we met with a less active youth named John. He is pretty chill, just doesn't come to church... Everyone, the problem here in LA. We then were scheduled to eat with this family and when we showed up to eat with them, the Hermana told us that she hadn't prepared anything because she just barely came back from work and didn't have any time to fix food for us. We then went and ate panda instead. We biked around the legit downtown downtown and omg I almost got really mad at my companion for the day because here I am, on a freaking heavy mountain bike biking uphill and here he is, a much more fit Elder biking on a fixie that is a featherweight. It was all good and I held my temper... I still am haha. We ended the night at coordination and we were asked to have one member from each companionship talk at church about missionary work, so all of the senior companions decided to speak... Aka me, I'll let you know how that went. It was pretty funny though because the WML and I were making funny faces at each other because he was getting a little bored when other missionaries were talking... Oh Hermano R.

Wednesday we switched back from the exchange and we set out to go and see S. She was super tired so we didn't see her. We ended up talking to her mom and that was interesting. She was talking about all the challenges that she has. We then had to bike really hard to go and see E and E. We have had to change a lot of things about how we teach them, but hey, sometimes you have to switch things up. We then saw the R family and oh my goodness, I am so frustrated sometimes with my investigators! We try so hard to help them understand the importance of everything about the gospel, take it slow, do daily contact, pray for them, everything! But somehow they just don't progress. We biked to go and see a lady named J V. She is really nice, but super Catholic. How do you help someone not cross themselves after a prayer? She is a very sweet lady and she's also from Peru, so I'm kinda bias, but she is just so upfront with us, it's nice almost.

Thursday was a very long day. We had weekly planning on that was good, kinda. We then tried to go and see a PM family, but they couldn't meet with us, so that was sad. We stopped by L to see how they were going and they were having lots of family problems so that was sad. We shared a scripture with them and hopefully that helped the situation. We wanted to take a less active to visit some recent converts, but his mom wanted him to run some errands so that didn't happen. We still saw the recent converts and they gave us some food. It was good because one of their family members were there and so they would bear their testimonies to him and we also showed a video to them. We then had a series of lessons that were planned out cancel on us. It was really sad. We even brought out a youth with us to go and teach! We ended up visiting a less active family with him and that was alright, but it was still pretty depressing.

Friday was district meeting and after we went to go and see the B family. It was a bit better than before, so at least they are progressing. We ate diner with the A family and that was a little weird. They made a stir fry and put worschester and soy sauce with taps tip on it... I cannot believe I survived hahaha. (Sorry I don't remember more from this day)

Saturday lots of stuff happened. We had a street lesson and set a return appointment. We visited a couple less active youth in the P family and that was good. We ate dinner with the R and they gave Elder B a cake because Monday is his birthday. (Sorry we are just rushed on time today, I'll email more later maybe)

Sunday just threw me off. The day started out nice, but then I guess we were suppose to go to a meeting in the morning with the bishop, but we were never told about it. So we arrived late to the meeting so that looked real bad.. Ugh. Then I gave a talk during sacrament meeting that I had to cut short, but it's all good, I survived. I didn't do so good at looking at the audience because I wanted to get in most of my talk. Everyone said I did good, so that's good. Nobody came to church again... I'm getting a little sad about that. It was nice though because all the members were saying that they were going to miss us cause of transfers. We went back to the apartment to change. While walking outside, we saw the R family! (Their baptismal dates fell because they didn't come to church). They said that they would be home later and that we could come by to see them. We kept walking and talking to people, and eventually we swung by to see E. He is just going through a really rough time right now. I think he is on that teenager mode when he is so cool that nothing is cool for him. We try to explain things to him, but he never applies it, it's really depressing sometimes. Returning home to the apartment for our dinner hour, I just crashed. I was so exhausted that I didn't even eat dinner. Afterwards we went to the R family to give the twins their children's Book of Mormon copies. We shared the message of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and it was pretty good. Best part of the lesson was definitely when we were talking about repentance and we said that 'sin is disobedience to God's commandments' and then we kinda were sneaky and freaked out the kids by saying... "And what is the 4th commandment of the 10 commandments (cause we taught them this)" they were like "go to church!.... 😱😨😰. It was so funny! Their faces were almost white! We explained the miracle of the atonement and the process of repentance and then their frowns and faces turned to smiles and with determination they said to their mom "we are going to church next week!" It. Was. Awesome. That's how the day ended, kinda, because we just tried to visit people and they weren't home.

Sorry that this letter is a little more depressing, it was a more sad week, but hey, new transfer, new change right?

Love,

Elder Roberts

Week 66

Week 5 Korea Town

Ya it's the one on GJ. By USC the place is called Cream. It's super good. It's not like the creamery though, not even close. It's just has ice cream cookie sandwiches and that's it. We haven't been to Yogurtland cause I'm trying to budget even though my comp is basically complaining that we need to go. Transfers are next week and I'm also getting the feeling that I am staying, but that my comp will leave.

Monday we did our normal Pday stuff. When we are shopping, we are trying to be a little adventurous. Last week we bought a container of coconut- Almond milk and that was pretty good. This week we decided to buy Cashew cream milk that is chocolate flavor and 😮😮👍 it is so good! We biked one handed back to the apartment and yes, my fingers were losing circulation, but I'm alive! We went with some other Elders
to Korean BBQ at a place on Fedora and Olympic and we payed about 13$ a piece, it wasn't too bad. Korean BBQ is definitely a social experience. You have to be patient and the conversation has to be good, or else you feel like it is a waste of time. Well after that we went to go and play basketball at the church so that was fun. We all
had a good time and nobody got hurt. After the Pday part of the day was over we went to go and visit the A family. They are less active cause the mom works on Sundays. We taught them the Restoration and it was good. They gave us popsicles afterwards and then the mom suggested that her son, C, come with us on splits. We set up a time for Wednesday and that he seemed like he would go. We then went
to see the D L family. We took a little while with the A family because of the popsicles so we arrived late to the D L's. We barely had enough time to talk to them about prayer before they had to leave. They just don't want to progress, but then when we think we are going to turn them over to the Lord, they come to church... So
idk.

Tuesday was just a crazy day, poorly planned based on our bike route. At the beginning of the day we actually were in a trio with Elder H because his companion had a meeting so we chilled with him till the meeting was over. He is a Chinese elder from Massachusetts and he is really smart. Afterwards we went to go and see the B family. The son, J, was there and we talked with him for a bit and it was pretty good. He is a nice guy and he pays attention when we are there. He helped us get the attention of his sister J, who is not a member and we shared a video about being Christlike to them. In their home they aren't exactly the most Christlike people. After that we biked all the way across our area to try and go see the E family, a part member family. We barely caught the mom leaving to go
and do laundry so we set up another time for us to go by. We were right by the apartment for L so we stopped by to see her. You will not believe the reason why they didn't come to church: so when we stopped by on Sunday and knocked on their door. The twins answered and we told them to go get dressed for church and they told us that their mom wasn't feeling too good. They told us that their sister, L, was waiting for someone to come pick her up. Well the person didn't come until about 10:30 (so they missed church) and then the person only took her for about an hour, so then the mom was mad. Guess what she did during that hour? She went to go and get her toenails painted... The twins then went and beat on their sister because she was the reason that they didn't go to church. After that we went to the church before coordination for some dinner. Well Hermana G was the one that signed up on the list to give us food, but she also signed up to feed the sister missionaries. So here we are waiting for Hermana to show up when we find out that her husband, a member of the bishopric, is out with the other missionaries visiting investigators
(woot woot) but that she has no way of getting to the church. SO we had to wait for all of them to come to church. Hermano R, the WML kinda chuckled about the whole thing and so all of us ate what Hermana G brought, it was super good. We had coordination and I just can't stand this one person who always comes... I'll vent about her another time.

Wednesday was just a weird day. We had a cool day planned out, with some members coming with us and everything. One of the appointments changed times so then the member couldn't come out with us, and the member is this super cool RC named J D who is hilarious and awesome. We wanted him to fellowship Sogui, but because he couldn't make it, we went anyways. Ana, her mom, decided to give us food! (Uh oh). It had tofu in it and it was disgusting! We didn't really have a lot of time to talk with them or anything so we just followed up with S on everything. I feel like such a terrible missionary because we never have any time to actually teach a lesson to S because of her kids and everything, but she has a lot of desire so that's what is keeping me going. After that we went to go and have our actual dinner with the C's. They had this awesome soda called Lift and its apple flavored. Apparently it's really hard to find, so if y'all can find it, try it. We told them that we wanted to stop by during the week to have one of their NMLs, so we planned for that. We then went to go and pick up C, a YM in the Ward, so that way he could walk with us to the lesson with E and E. We also wanted to contact with him along the way. It was his first time going out on splits with the missionaries so we gave him a little run down. Why didn't I ever go on all its with the missionaries?? I probably never wanted to, but y'all should've just forced me lets be honest. The lesson went really good, we talked about tithing and fasting. E is a true convert. She is just one of those people that will do anything, she even goes with the sister missionaries to their lessons! It was a good way to end the night.

Thursday we had this amazing day planned. So many set appointments and new people to go and visit. I feel like this is the cycle for my planning though: if we have a legit day planned with all these appointments and new investigators, NOTHING will happen, whereas if we have nothing planned and we improv it, it goes amazing! So ya, one by one the lessons started to cancel, even after we had already confirmed the lessons. After weekly planning we were invited by the Bs to eat a lunch with them. It was really awkward because they were just really cranky I guess that day. The son and daughter were just fighting left and right. J, the son, helped get everyone to listen by the end. It was just awkward the entire time basically. We then had all these awesome plans with the R family (L) but then right as we got there, bam, she cancels.... Ugh! During the day we would try and contact and talk to people, but it wasn't going so good. We did have some success with the Koreans though. We have a card for Korean-English classes and so whenever we would try to start a conversation with a Korean and they would all be like "oh sorry don't speak English" we would be like "no problem! Here is a card for free classes!" Wabam! We then dropped by to see how the D L's are doing and it is just getting more depressing every time we go.

Friday the Zone Leaders texted us and told us that we were going to go in exchanges with them. Elder H was going to come with me in my area and Elder B would be going with Elder W in their area. Elder H is from Kaysville and he went to Davis high. He is extremely tall and of course we just started to go off on all things we had in common. He is a really good missionary. I don't know what it is, but whenever I'm with another missionary we just go and talk with everyone we see, and we see miracles. We talked to these two ladies and they were so high on fumes I tell you. We asked them who is Jesus Christ to them and one of them said "a hippie"... Great. The other one was Muslim so they started to bash on the fact that we are "forced to go on missions" and that we should "stop this, and live your lives!". To their amazement we told them that we actually chose to do this, that it is completely voluntary. I tell you their mouths dropped it was so funny. That got them really interested and then we told them what we do as missionaries. They seemed both interested, and I bet if they weren't so high that they might've wanted the other missionaries to go and see them, but it was a cool experience nonetheless. We
talked to a lot of people in that area. We then went to go and see the C's and talk to them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the second half of the Plan of Salvation. It was really good and their conversion stories that they shared with us are just amazing. They are that family that has a lot of struggles, but they remain humble through it all. They aren't perfect, you can definitely tell that they have tempers sometimes, but all in all they are doing good.... They just need to come to church. After that we went to go have dinner with Hermana G. She is super cool and she has the son serving in Ecuador right now. She gave us some real good food and apparently when we asked the Rs to come out with us to visit investigators... Go figure that they talk to their friends in the Ward. This is exactly the type of tender mercy that was needed. The members are starting to trust us more and want to come and visit with us! We stopped by to visit S and she is doing good. It was really sad cause her daughter has pink eye, and so that means that she won't be able to come to church, cause that's really gross if the little girl who has pink eye spreads it around when she partakes ok the sacrament. That was a little sad, but understandable. We went to the area of where the R family lives because we had some time to go and talk with
people. Let's just say that the area was a little weird. We tried to stop by a part member family and outside their apartment building were some guys who weren't doing nice things. As we walked in this guy was just "watering the grass" 😷 and so that was awkward. On the way out of the apartment complex I got a bad feeling. The guys outside all looked at us when, the phone rang! Thank you R! They called and we walked out of there like it was no big deal. We then had the most awesome lesson planned for the R family. We were going to teach them the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and have the Rs with us during that lesson. Well, lo and behold, right as the Rs found parking and are excited to go, L says that she won't be home. Kidding me right?

Saturday was one of those improv days that actually went good. We started out with a visit with E and that was good, but E isn't feeling so pumped up about church anymore, so we don't know what to do. We then went to go and see the P family. They are a family of 6 and the two youngest sons are less active. We had a HTBT lesson with them and made them laugh and it was a really good lesson and we had fun doing it. We then set up that we would come by Saturday at 2 with them from now on. We then went to go and see S C because their whole family is moving and they are less active so we want them to be active members now so when they move they will be active members there too. It was a weird lesson because S wants to get tattoos and the dad just got a blue mohawk.... Lovely. We
then ate dinner with the R family and that was good. We then decided one last time to go and see the R family a who would've guessed, they were home! It was really weird because the mom was complaining about this member of the family, then that one, it was so awkward. We then invited the, to come to church and told them that the R family would love to give them a ride if they needed one. The mom seemed very optimistic about it....

Sunday we were pumped, except for the fact that we had a meeting at 8:00 in the morning. We had plans to go and wait for the R family to leave their house so that way we could make sure that they would come to church, we even had the R family ready to pick them up. We had the meeting with the bishop and then biked clear back to our area (FYI it's about 1.5 miles from our apartment to the church) and we went to knock on the door for Luz. BUT they weren't home, so we biked there for nothing. We then got a text from E who wanted us to come by and wake up E because he "wants out" of church. We decided that we weren't going to force him because that's never good. We then walked with E to church and she vented to us a little bit. Church was good, just because I'm getting closer to the
members so that's really what makes church fun. We had a lot of our less active members show up to church, but again, no investigators. A different D L family gave us dinner and I'll tell you why: The night before Mothers Day we sent out a text to all the Hermanas in our area telling them how much we appreciate them and how amazing they are. Ever since then the D L's have given us food every Sunday. We then went to the B family, but they weren't home so that was a little sad. we saw E and followed up on how church was and the family history class, so that was good. After that we talked to all of the RC and LA members to set up a time during the week to visit them, so finger crossed!

That was the week, it is definitely a time of growing and of patience that's for sure, but I'll make it, no worries:)

I'll be on later so I might respond to some stuff

Love,
Elder Roberts

Week 65

Week 4 Korea Town

Monday was a crazy day, so I'm just gonna get right into it. We finished up our laundry and went to go shop. Elder B bought some interesting stuff this week and you know me, I just love trying new things. He bought Silk Almond Coconut milk and I just had to try it to see if I liked it. It's not too bad, milk is still good, but it's not bad. While shopping we figured that we would bike home with 1 hand like I did last week. Well as I began to get on my bike, there is this little holder on the frame on my bike for my U-Lock which totally snapped in half, idk why. Elder B was struggling to get on his bike and ride with one hand so we decided to walk back to our apartment instead of bike (ugh). We got back to the apartment and cleaned while we waited for Elder J and Elder L (trainee) to come pick us up so we could go to the Hollywood sign. We went up there and started the hike. It was the first time for me, Elder J, and Elder L so we followed Elder B... Bad idea. We got lost so many times and took the long way to the Hollywood sign we even tried to get right in front of the sign, but ended up behind it. Gonna quote some kid president right now: two roads (trails) diverged in a yellow wood (led up to the Hollywood sign) and I took the road (trail) less traveled by... And it hurt man! We had to slide down this very uneven part of the trail and Elder L slid down it like a ninja who surfs mountains or something. I on the other hand, start to slide down, when my foot twisted and I slid down on my right side. I got scraped up pretty bad and I was covered in dirt. We finally got to the Hollywood sign, or the lookout behind it, and took some pictures. Hopefully I can get them to you soon. We then wanted to go and get Cream real quick before Pday ended. We were all so tired from the hike, and it took longer than we thought. None of us brought water and it was a very hot day. Yes I got burned, yes I was stupid, yes I will bring water next time I do it. We went to cream (which is on USC campus) and it was graduation day! Everything was so packed it was crazy. They dropped us off at our apartment and we showered cause I was still covered in dirt. That shower seriously felt like coming home from camping, it was so good. We then went to our appointment with a family and lo and behold they canceled on us. My goodness. I could totally go off about that family right now, but I won't, cause it's not going to change anything. 

Tuesday we had this awesome day planned where some of our Rc were going to come with us to a lesson with a part member family, but the part member family canceled so that kinda put a fork in our whole plans for the day. We ended up talking to the RC individually and it is cray to see the difference in the conversion of some people. I am amazed by how much faith people can have sometimes. So much childlike faith that they just want to learn about everything, it's so awesome. The. You have others who... Aren't so hungry and thirsty for the gospel. We went to go and visit a less active named S C. Her family is moving to Colorado and in preparation for that the dad has had to work a lot, even on Sundays. We stopped by and I got to know her a little bit because I had never met her before. She told us about her prom that she went to, you won't believe what happened. Basically one of the teachers at her school is a twin to an actor, so they got this hook up at a really cool hotel for the dance. Well let's just say that the students and teachers didn't behave themselves. The teachers were drunk and the kids where all high. S was good though, don't worry about her. Turns out she is going to attend Mesa state college in GJ! Small world right? Isn't that the college right by Stoker Stadium and JUCO?? I think so... I also remember y'all telling me to never go to that school 😂. Afterwards we had coordination at the church and man, did we try to drop a HINT! There is a member in the Ward who is very chismosa, which means she likes to gossip. Almost all of the members that we visited last week told us about some form of chisme that was going around. We told in coordination that it needs to stop. We will see where it goes from there.

Wednesday was just a weird day, I've been having a lot of those hahaha. Well first off a LA asked us if he could borrow one of our suits cause he had a friends graduation to go to, so Elder B let him use his suit (still hasn't gotten it back yet). After lunch we planned to go explore a part of our area that had never been visited before, because it is a richer part of the area. While there we talked to this lady who is from the Philippines. She liked us so she said that she might call us to invite us over for lunch someday and then we can talk to her whole family about Jesus Christ. We then went to go and see S. We had an awesome lesson planned for her, but when we got there, the whole family was in Chaos. We will just say that the Gospel really does bless families and that they need a little bit more gospel in their lives... Ya. We talked for a little bit then had to leave. We then went to go and see the B family and that was even more of a mess! It's so frustrating when people are not being so kind towards each other and using mean words, just makes you sad ya know? We then had dinner scheduled with the F's, the one that borrowed Elder B's suit, but they were still at the graduation thing so it was really awkward. They have a son named Randy who was somewhat forced into being baptized and they always force him to sit and listen to us... No wonder he doesn't come to church. We got to know him a little hit more and made the situation more relaxed. Go figure that the one chismosa lady lives with this poor family. We then went to go and see the A family. They are less active as well, but because the mom works on Sundays. We talked with them for a hit and got to know the, as well. The son, C, is really into gaming and crazy stuff and has bad grades, but hopefully he ends up going on a mission. I feel like if he goes on a mission, then it will be a major blessing in his life.

Thursday we had weekly planning and we set some goals that were going to stretch us. We also planned out for the rest of the week who we were going to visit and just planned super good. Well, it seems like whenever I plan super good, everything falls through, so that's just what happened. However, we did receive some tender mercies. For example, a companionship of sister missionaries called us and told us that they received a referral from a less active member in our area who is the only member in her family. She asked if the missionaries could come by. Well we immediately wrote down all the information and planned to go and see her later that day. We met her and it turns out that the missionaries had just lost contact with them in the past. The husband is not a member but likes the missionaries. She also has a daughter that is 9 years old, but is not baptized yet and she loves church. We were so blessed! We are setting up a day in which we can meet the whole family. The only problem is that the parents work a lot so that's difficult. We then went to go and see L, but she wasn't home. We tried to go and visit some potentials when we were locked out of the apartment complex. Well outside with us was a teenager who asked something along the lines of "are you Mormons?" We responded yes, and I he had ever spoken with missionaries before to which he replied "I'm Mormon" 😳😳😳🙄🙄🙄🤔🤔🤔😇😇😇 turns out him and his mom are the only members in his family and the dad and sister are not members... Another part member family! Woohoo! We then planned to go and see them again.

Friday we had DM and that was good, our district is very unique I will put it that way. We then planned to go and see E, who is a RC, cause he is struggling with his testimony. Any advice on what we should do? We have tried to ask him questions but he is just shut off completely from us basically. He is the one that was told bad things about me from another missionary. After that we tried to go by and talk to the B family, but there were a lot of distractions so the lesson wasn't focused at all, it was awful. We then went to go and see S and we basically told her what she needs to do in order to be baptized. She seemed really cool about everything, she even read a little bit in the introduction! It was a good lesson and so we were happy, she is slowly progressing, but still progressing. We then went and picked up dinner from a member because there wasn't a man in her home, so Elder B (he's awesome) always is willing to carry the food back to the apartment. Haha, two white guys who speak Spanish carrying Chinese food in the middle of Korea Town... Sounds like a funny joke. We then went by to go and see L and we finally caught them! We had a good lesson in which we reset their baptismal dates for next month. Hopefully they start coming to church, that's really the only thing that is holding them back.

Saturday we received a call to go and help with a fundraiser and service project that the stake relief society was putting on. It was a fundraiser for school supplies so we helped find tables and carry in bags of school supplies. We then went to the and visit some people but again, the plans fell through and none of the people were there. We visited a lot of homes and talked to a lot of people, but it was a rather boring day. We ate dinner with the R family and they always give us so much food. We set up a day this next week for them to come with us for about an hour and we even did a mini practice with them about how they might introduce themselves to some of our investigators. We then tried to go and visit some more people, but nobody was home.

Sunday was just a mess. We woke up and wanted to go by our investigators houses before church to wake them up. We went by L and her family to wake them up and the twins answered the door. We told them that church was in an hour and they were really wanting to go... But it turns out the L may have stopped that from happening. So basically all the people that we woke up to go and knock on their doors didn't come to church and all we did was get super sweaty in the morning before church... Lovely. Church was alright, I just feel like I need to get to know the members more because I don't really know any members right now. We walked around and tried to talk to people, we saw some very interesting things... People wise. We did go and visit the B family to see why they didn't come to church and figure out how we as missionaries can improve and help them more. We also stopped by E and E because they didn't come either. It was just a depressing ending to an alright week I guess. As a missionary the week really is dependent on whether or not people come to church, it is 100% true.

I'm pretty sure that all for the week, let me know if I left anything out!

Love,

Elder Roberts

Eating hot soup on a hot day.

(P.S. some of his letter we had to edit due to his grammar getting a little more tricky)