Hey-oh, my dear friends!! It has been a CRAZZZZZZY
week, the culmination of which was a crazy flood and the death of our dear
van...yup. On the Sabbath. I'll get to the finer deets in due time, but
the basics are that I never knew "swamping" was a thing and now it's
a consistent part of my vocab and Heavenly Father truly protects His
missionaries. It's been a wild ride!! We're super okay, no worries...but our
sweet minivan has seen better days. It's hanging ten at the car place as we
speak, and the gracious Elders of Grand Forks have been chauffeuring us around
town today- but I am confident in the Lord's ability to resurrect Bertha, haha.
I tell you all about it the crazy adventure of last night in the weekly
report...but it's just too good to wait out, haha!! Had to give ya a sneak
peak!
Other than the craziness of the flood
(#neverforget), the craziness of the week was the glorious kind, not the gut
wrenching kind- full of lovely mail and beautiful lessons and new investigators
and exchanges- such a lovely week!!
We started it all off with Monday, dontcha
know...nothing too crazy to report. We did the usual shenanigans, browsed Hobby
Lobby for a minute (the bessssst!!), found my new journal (the constant
struggle of my life, it seems), and made a beautiful CD of all the good
"Nashville Tribute" to cap it all off- such a good day!
We dined
after all our adventuring, chilled with Joe and taught him the Word of Wisdom
(love that man!!), and ended our night by trying some investigators- it was a
party! We went to this rogue apartment building where a few of our peeps live,
and no one was home...so we walked out all forlornly and thought the night was
over- when AJ, who I taught my first day in Grand Forks and haven't seen since,
just happens to pull up next to us after we cross the street, yahoooooo!!! It
was seriously bonkers- we are always where we need to be. We ended up
scheduling an appointment with him for later in the week- tender mercies of the
Lord!!
Our fancy CD- thanks to Dale. :)
And then, it was Tuesday. We updated the area book
for a season, attempted to stalk our main man Travis at work, took a media
hour...and THEN, we met the Orozcos for lunch- the best!!! We ate at Grand
Junction, the greatest place on earth, and we chatted about life and the gospel
and they gave us a referral- I love the Orozcos with all the energy of my
soul!!! They even brought Sis. Tucker a package from her family- they recently
vacayed to Utah and hung ten with the Tucker clan, those lovely Orozcos. Momma
Tucker sent ravioli and chapstick and owl mugs and loads of goodness- it was a
lovely time. Yahoo for the Orozcos!!!
The best! :)
We taught Tanisha after the world's greatest lunch
date, just followed up with church and chatted about life- love her! We were on
our way to contact at the mall following that lovely lesson when we got a rogue
media referral- huzzah for Israel!! So, we grabbed a Bible and headed off...and
it was crazy. We met Aiyana Luke, a Pentecostal lady who saw on ad on facebook
for a free Bible- she was so full of soul I thought her soul might burst outta
her body, man oh man! She was super confused at first by our presence, because
she thought they would mail the Bible to her...but then, she was SO jazzed that
we came by once we explained ourselves, haha. Such a party! We chatted with her
for quite a while, explained what we believe- she had met with Elders in
Minnesota but was still pretty confused. It was awesome! We ended up teaching
that Aiyana about the Restoration, which she was super not having...but it was
still pretty fun to meet her, haha. Missions are the best!!
We ate dinner at the Kauffman's on Tuesday night
and tried the masses...and randomly ran into our good friend Kristian,
yahoooo!! We were headed back to the swag van after walking around town and
talking to everyone...when Kristian blades in our direction with his dog- it
was bonkers, haha! We've been trying to get in touch with that man for eons
now, and there he was, casually blading with his husky- exactly where we needed
to be! He ended up tenderly dropping us, Kevin Kady style (for you faithful
blog readers, haha), and my heart was absolutely broken...so Sis. Tucker bought
me a frostie, haha. That's what companions are for! Kind of rough but
ultimately inspired- I knew it was coming bu didn't want to accept it, ya know?
He's just the best!
On Wednesday, we strutted around town to preserve
our miles- last day of the month, dontcha know! It ended up being
SUCH a lovely day- I love being a missionary! It's the greatest thing around!!
We first thing walked on over to Joe's, love him, and then ate some lunch
before heading back out. We taught our dear friend Travis at Dale's, such a
party- he's just the best!! We reviewed the gospel and focused on endure to the
end- it was perfection!! Travis is the coolest! He's already changed so much
since we've known him, and it's so gorgeous to see the Atonement working in his
life- it's my fave! He's still working towards Oct. 8th for baptism, but we're
trying to help him quit smoking...stress-FUL! I think it's all going to work
out- he's so solid. I just adore him!!
We grabbed Sherah after that lovely lesson and
taught AJ about the Gospel- so gorgeous!! AJ said he would be baptized once he
knows it's true, huzzzzzah!!!, and we landed another appointment for next week-
so awesome!
We ate some dinner and headed on over to Pat's-
love her!! We taught her about the Plan of Salvation and she immediately knew
it's true...she is just so prepared. She even told us that she's down to her
last pack of cigarettes and that she's not going to buy anymore- THE
BESSSSSST!!! I love when people change their lives without us having
to boss them around about it- it makes my heart so full!! Pat is the greatest!!
I even made us take a picture together, haha- my heart was full to
bursting!
PATTTT!!!
We finished up our night by trying the usuals,
nothing too crazy- such a lovely Wednesday!!
On Thursday, we weekly planned-. But, we also
managed to bust out lovely lessons all over the place- tender mercies of the
Lord!! We saw Lora at Joe's in the morning, Tanisha in the afternoon, and we
met a super cool lady named Julie at the mall in the evening times...it was
pretty awesome. Successful Thursday!!
And then, it was Friday- such a magical day!!! We
had district meeting in the morn and we exchanged away right after with the
Devil's Lake sisters- such a party!! I hung ten in Grand Forks with Sis.
Steiner and we saw SO many miracles- it was amazing! Sis. Steiner is just the
coolest cat around!!
We first thing ate some lunch, like you do, and we
ran off to see everyone- so good! Our first stop was Joe, who we read 1 Nephi 4
with and he kept telling me that he wasn't asleep...even though his eyes were
totally closed, haha. Joe is the best!!
We tried Henry after that, who randomly went to
Minnesota for the day...so we ate some more food and grabbed my fave Audry
Orozco- and we proceeded to have the greatest evening of all time, yahooooo!!
We first thing contacted a rogue media referral and taught David, a super sweet
man from Liberia- it was so cool! We went over the Restoration and he just
soaked it all up- it was gorgeous! I love Africans!! His friend Jacob sat in,
too, and they both scheduled return appointments for next week- the
bessssst!!! Such cool cats!
I love hanging ten with Audrey- and Sis. Steiner. :)
We ran over to Harry's after that, where we ended
up teaching Sundayma about the Book of Mormon- so sweeeeet!! On our way out of
her place, we got a call from Joe, inviting us over for pizza- the best!! We
ran over there AND ROLLY WAS THERE, YAHOOOOOO!!!! Rolly is Joe's super hip and
fly older brother who we've been trying to teach forEVER...and we managed
somehow (by the combined power of Sis. Steiner and Audry, I think) to teach him
the Restoration- and he became a new investigator, yahooooo!!! We totally
bonded over that combo pizza and he saw into our souls- and Audry testified so
beautifully of the Restoration and Joseph Smith. It was incredible!! Exchange
miracles!!
On Saturday, we exchanged back in the morn (I adore
Sis. Steiner!!), and ran off to teach Travis- the best!! We went over tithing
and fasting, and he committed to come to church- AND HE TOTALLY CAME, AHHHHH!!!! So
proud of that hooligan!! He even invited us over for dinner on Saturday night-
we're besties!! In between teaching him and eating with him and his fam in the
night, we taught Pat and Joe and hung ten with Sherah- it was a beautiful time.
And THEN, we ate pizza with Travis and Dale and life was beautiful!! Pizza is
the best! I think pizza may actually be my favorite food- it is so
delish!!
Travis, our resident hooligan. :)
And then, it was Sunday. We finished up weekly
planning in the morn and ran off to church- such a lovely time!! I just felt so
full by the end of it all, and my heart was near to bursting with Grand Forks
adoration- it's the greatest place on earth!!!
We tried our peeps after church and taught Tanisha
with Sherah- such goodness! We read in the Book of Mormon with her and the
Spirit was just so strong- I adore Tanisha!! We ate some dinner after that,
nothing too crazy, and then tried more of our peeps...and the rains were coming
down all the while. I didn't really think twice about it, because #seattlegirl...but
the water started pooling up in the evening and the roads were getting pretty
full...kinda scary! We tried Misti and were on our way over to Sundayma's when
the waters did reach unto the base of the swag van and we were sore
afraid...and then, while thus wadding through the tumultuous flood waters of
Grand Forks, the van did cease to move. Sis. Tucker was filming the whole
thing, so we have this lovely little clip where I freak out because the van
won't go...AHHHHHH!! Sis. Tucker immediately ditched her shoes and jumped
from the car, only to realize that the flood water was actually knee deep...man
oh man, it was a crazy time. She was determined to push us to safety, but we
noticed a rogue man down the road from us trying to push his wee car all by his
lonesome...so we both ditched our shoes and abandoned the van to help, like the
good Christian women we are, giggling all the while at the craziness of this
situation- it was crazy! But alas, oodles of people ended up helping us
move the wee car to safety and our swag van- God is good! The people of
North Dakota are good!! All is still well in Zion,
although Bertha didn't really want to start once we got her to dry land...she's
since been towed to the car place to await her resurrection, haha. The Zone
leaders ended up picking us up, such good men, and driving us home- such a
crazy end to a crazy week!! We're safe and dry now, thank heavens...and we have
another great story to tell our kiddos one day, haha. Pray for Bertha, my friends!
All my nightmares in two photos. Man oh man.
Oh man, whatta week!! This next one is going to be
crazy as well...but hopefully not too crazy, haha. I love you all so much-
thank you for all you do!! Have the greatest weeks ever!!
Love,
Sister Robinson
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