MIA

Dear Family,

I am extremely sorry I have been MIA for the past two weeks... it has been very chaotic! A lot has happened. Also, not so much has happened. Harlem is very dry right now. Meaning our teaching pool is zero. We do not have anyone who wants to learn more about Jesus Christ at the moment. That makes things a little more discouraging. However there is a very important lesson I have learned over these past few weeks I want to share with you. I have been struggling with pride. Every one does. However in this area I felt like I knew everything and knew how to be the best missionary. I thought that I could teach X amount of lessons no problem. I thought I could solve every problem that came up. I thought I knew better than those who have been serving in the city longer than me. I was wrong. I was reading the April 2016 General Conference Talk titled " In Praise of Those Who Save." It is incredible and helped me realize my weakness and faults and how to overcome them. In it, it says "...if charity is the pure love of Christ, then pride is the defining characteristic of Satan. Pride may be a common human failing. But it is not part of our spiritual heritage, and it has no place among [the children] of God." As I read that it pierced my heart! Knowing that I had a pride issue really upset me, but when I read this I understood that it isn't apart of our spiritual DNA. I can change. Then it lead me into studying more about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and Repentance. Which can never be studied fully. It is always something we should study and apply in our life daily. It isn't a one and done, I know it all type deal. It has blown my mind how important Jesus Christ is. I have been reading in Jesus The Christ. Yes, that scary big book ;) it is remarkable how much information I did not know about our Savior. It is remarkable how much I haven't used him in my life. How much closer I can get to him. I am so grateful for him and the opportunity I have to get closer to him. My Mission President always calls him "My Jesus". He is. I love him. There have been some really incredible moments throughout this time as well! We met this man from Africa who is only in New York for a couple months. We taught him about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he loved it! He mostly speaks French so it was challenging to teach him! Thank goodness for technology :) when we talked about Joseph Smith we asked if he had any questions and he said "No. I am glad someone brought that back." How amazing?!? Also at the end he said " I do have one question. Is there a prophet living today?" YES!!! It was incredible! We showed him a picture of President Thomas S Monson and he said " That is a nice man of God." I love it! The funniest and incredible part about this is we met him on the bus. He had just gotten out of his church and was heading home. Isn't it cool how these things work out ;) he even came to the Family Ward this Sunday! He is the coolest. I am so grateful I get to see miracles like these! I am heading home from the 9/11 Memorial right now. Oh my goodness. The spirit you feel as you walk along the pools. The sight of the tower and surrounding buildings. It was incredible! It made me thankful for the POS. That those who lost loved ones in that tragic event can see them again. It also made me realize that the world we live in now is crumbling. We are getting closer and closer to Christ coming again. What would happen if Christ came tomorrow? Would you be ready? I love the opportunity I have to be in New York City. It is challenging. It is wonderful. It is distracting and crowded. It is beautiful and adventurous. I am so lucky to be a missionary! To get to help so many people. I meet at least 10 new people a day. That isn't enough! There is millions here. I have to tell them all about God, Christ, Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and so much more! These people have no idea! Someone was telling me about how these Elders approached this man and asked how long he has been in New York for. He said all his life. They asked if he heard of Joseph Smith. He said no. They replied, You have lived in New York all your life and you haven't heard of Joseph Smith?!? 😮 Hahaha! I am going to use that next time :) it is so true though! These people need to know! Just to have that knowledge that these things exist. I hope everything one is doing wonderful! I pray for each of you and think about you every day! I LOVE YOU ALL!!! ♡ Sister Robison