I Love Mexico! Letter 08-09-10

Mission Conference 2010- What a good looking group of Elders & Sisters with awesome President & Sister Hansen! I love this picture!

Elder Robertson in his room?

Elder Robertson with real bunny ears. Don't ask!

Elder Robertson & Elder Meza- It looks like they are soaked from the rain.

Hey Cass- It sounds like camp was awesome! I wish that I could go rafting & camping but I love doing missionary work right now! It is the best! Anyway- I'm glad you had a blast with all the girls. Wow- school is coming up fast and that's cool that you're getting braces! Love you Sis

Hey Tan- Nothing new with me. I'll bet you're Colton's height- That's cool! Does he dunk it like crazy? I can't wait for football to start either. Ty is going to have a great Senior year! Keep working hard at basketball and you will be great in High School! Keep reading your scriptures! Love you bro

Colt- Hey everything in Mexico is great and getting better. We have some baptisms coming up and I'm excited. Tell Bean the MTC is awesome! That's good that you want to start your mission. It does go by way too fast. Colt a aprender espanol usted necesita el deseo y el espiritu santo. yo se que si usted trabaja y siempre habla en espanol se va a aprender mas rapido. su espanol es bueno hermano. Love you- Elder Robertson

Tyler- You're going to be fine! Just work hard like everyone is telling you! Yep- what sport do you want to play- soccer or basketball cuz I'll beat you in both! haha! Love ya bro

Hey Dad- I'll bet your talk was awesome. I wish I could've heard it, but I'm glad the Spirit was there. Is Tanner getting better at basketball? Because he is sure talking like he is way better than me and that's not possilbe! ha! You need to keep showing him up, okay? haha! On a serious note, everything here is good! We are teaching like crazy. I am here for another month and a half for another change which is good! I love it here! Thanks for everything. Love you Dad

Hey mama- Everything is good here and yes I'm going to send some pictures today! Tell The Bean Family hello for me! Tyler is going to love his mission in Mexico! Yes, I wrote Alayna and told her that I sent it but you know... I'm in Mexico. Hope that letter gets to her. You know, one thing one of my teacher's taught at the MTC was don't hate church! ha ha! It was awesome! I'll write more next week. I'm just happy to be sending ya'll some pictures!

Tell everyone hi and I love them.

The Church is True!

Love you- Elder Robertson

I've hit the 6 month mark! (Letter 08-02-10)

(Since Elder Robertson was unable to send pictures this week, I've posted 2 pictures taken from President & Sister Hansen's blog. The first one is when a group of new Elders arrived in Mexico. President Hansen wrote, "And then, on April 5th, we got some great new missionaries. They are Elders Ruiz, Caudillo, Teliz, Corona (who came back to the mission from ankle surgery), Valdez, Robertson, Carpenter, Faisal, and Serna.)

Thank you for these pictures President Hansen!

"These are pictures of the "then" (April 5th) new missionaries and their trainers."

Yeah Mom... it's weird that I have hit the 6 month mark on my mission. It's flying by way too fast. Tyler Bean is going to the MTC next week and he is going to LOVE Mexico! And Ryan is in Brazil and has been out a month. November will be here shortly and then Colton will be out. Time just goes by way too fast.

Please tell Brother Bryan hello for me. I have been thinking about him a lot lately. He was always such a great example to me. I actually use a lot of the things that he would talk about when we went Home Teaching- like the way that he approached & taught. I am using that and I am extremely thankful for him. Please tell him thank you and that I miss just talking with him. I love the Bryan Family.

We found some people to teach in one of our wards so that was good this week! Also, we have 2 baptisms this week... maybe 3. Elder Meza and I are doing great and loving missionary work. The computer I am on today is not cooperating so I won't be able to send pictures. We will try again next Monday. Love you Mom

What's up Tan-Man? Yeah man... the tacos here are really good! I love them! Yep... go for Texas and just Texas! I know that the chargers are going to be horrible because they were stupid and traded everyone. Continue to pray & read your scriptures. Love you bro

This week was great Colt! We are just working hard. Are you studying your spanish? If not, make the time to study it! (I know you're working long hours) When are you going through the Temple? Love you bro

Hey Cassidy- I'm glad you've had a better week. Remember what I said about loving those that are hurtful. What counts is that you are doing what you are supposed to be doing. Just keep smiling and love everyone. I know that can be difficult. Have fun at camp and tell me how it went in your next letter. Love you sis

Hey Ty- That's cool! Last week of hard football. Wow- school starts soon. Enjoy your Senior year and don't slack off! Yeah, here the kids are the same as in Oklahoma. The young men down here are cool. A lot of them love to play sports. Love you bro

Hey Dad- I love that talk by President Hinckley. President Hansen uses it all the time. It's really inspiring to hear. I'll forget about the numbers and lose myself in the work. I know that the blessings will come. I can't think of anything for your FHE talk. I do remember our FHE chart/board with our responsibility that we rotated. That made it fun for me. I think we were happy when we had refreshment duty! haha! But really- it's just about being together as a family. I cherish those memories now. I'm sure that you are having a blast with all the Young Men. You're the right person for that calling. Have fun this week and tell everyone hello and thank you so much for everything. You & Mom are great examples to not only myself but my siblings. Love you Dad

Love you familia! Have a great week!

The Church is True!

Love- Elder Robertson

Letter 07-26-10

Hey Mom- we had a baptism this week... a boy named Mario. His whole family are members except for his dad. He went to Youth Conference and loved it! He called us and said, "I want to get baptized." It was way cool! My mission in Mexico has been great and is getting better! Bad news, I have my camera with me but not my cord so I'm unable to send pictures this week. We are in Martinez de la torre and so I didn't think to bring it. The story with the bunny ears is that we were at an activity and I put them on and a little girl took my camera and took a picture. It was funny! Tell the Hansen's again how much I loved their package. It was great and everyone in my zone loved it too. Well, the gum! ha ha! I wouldn't give up my seeds! Zone conference was all the changes in the mission and we learned that we always need to be working and working diligently. I've had a great week and I'm glad to hear you had a good one too. Love you Mom

Hey Tan-man- I'm good & just busy. My companion is awesome. We get along great. He has a brother in this mission too. That's cool that the cousins came down and you had fun with them. That is way cool. The food is good. We eat a lot of tacos- like all the time. They are great! Love you bro- keep practicing basketball cuz you're going to get beat in a year and a half! ha ha! And keep reading your scriptures. Love you bro

Hey Colt- yeah- that is a good scripture. How's your spanish coming along? Things are great here. One question- are you going to beat my record of baptisms? You're going to love your mission. Just remember to work your hardest and with all your heart. Right now I have 27 baptisms. That's cool that the cousins came down. Keep up your hard work. Love you bro

Hey Dad- I heard that you hit a home-run every-time you got up to bat at the picnic. ha ha! That's my dad! Cool that President Southward asked about me. Tell him and Sister Southward hello for me next time you're at the Temple. I'm growing up so much here- more spiritual than anything. I love the work and the way that I work is with diligence. I'm glad that you had a good week. I had a good week- we had a baptism at the last minute and we got our bauti stricto it's when all the district baptizes. It's cool because it was my comps first one! Love you dad- thanks for all your support.

Hey Cass- Have fun at girls camp and let me know how it goes. Remember to treat those who are not so kind with Christ like love. I'm glad dating is going good but when i get back those boys are going to be scared because I'm going to be talking to them in spanish and confusing them! So, just warning you now. Cass- read all of The Book of Mormon by the end of the year. I have read it twice on my mission in 6 months. I know you can do it. Love you sis

Hey Ty- My week has been great. We had 1 baptism to a kid that is 15 years old. My new companion is great. Did you hit a home-run too? We played soccer for P-Day today. It was our zone activity. We played against the soldiers in Martinez and we lost- but they cheated! ha ha! I'll send you more pictures next week. I'm glad you all liked the pictures last week. Love you bro

Have a great week everyone. Always remember to pray daily and read your scriptures. Tell our ward Elders hello for me.

Love, Elder Robertson

Letter 7-19-10

(We asked Elder Robertson for a picture of him wearing his glasses as we hadn't seem them on him. The picture with the bunny ears is an added bonus... ha ha! I'm sure it's from an activity. He didn't elaborate on it. )

I received my package from The Hansen's and I totally loved it!! Tell them thanks a ton! Elder Meza lives 5 hours from Colonial Juarez. Elder Gil was fine. He is ready to go home though, I think. He told me to always be thinking about my investigators. I will forever remember that. Elder Gil was transferred to Papantla (up North). Yeah, his mission ends in 3 weeks, I think. I'm going to work hard to get at least 101 baptisms. I have almost 30. We had 4 baptisms last week.

Mom-Wow! I love Grandpa's truck! I can't wait to see it in person. Very Sweet. Thanks for the pictures. Sounds like Grandpa had a great birthday!

I wrote President Bean and answered all of the questions. I'm sure they are excited for Tyler to begin his mission. I loved hearing from them last week.

That is awesome that you used my words in your RS lesson. It is always good to teach by and with the third companion, the Holy Ghost. But you also have to be worthy to have the Holy Spirit with you. We are doing good in Teziutlan and we are waiting and searching for people. We are really being patient. Guess what? Two people just showed up at church and said, "I want to learn more. When can you come and teach me?" It was AMAZING! We already have dates for them and they are really excited about getting baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. It's amazing the blessings of being worthy to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Love you Mom and I'm so thankful for your example. Love you Mom

Dad- Diligence is the one thing that President Hansen loves and I need to be diligent in all that I do to be made Senior Companion, District or Zone Leader or AP. It is also necessary in my study if I just read something... it's not studying... it's just reading. But, when I study... I learn more... like spanish! Without studying... I wouldn't know the language at all. Hey, I am playing a lot of soccer here. We will play when I get back. Love you Dad

No Tanner... I haven't seen any rude people and yes the Thunder is going to win the championship next year. I'm good like always. I'm working hard and bringing souls closer to God and teaching with all my heart. I have heard that talk! It's awesome to teach! How's basketball? How tall are you now? Love you bro

My week was good Ty. We had 4 baptisms this week and we completed a family so I am way excited about that. You need to listen to mom and dad! Really! So how long are you grounded for? My companion is tight and he doesn't really speak english which is good because I can learn more spanish! Be good! Love you bro

Colton-My new companion is tight. He is really short and is really funny! He is from the Mexico Tampico Mission and he is new to the Mission Veracruz. So, I am basically his dad in the mission. Which is tight. I'm just working hard and finding families. I can't wait for you to go on your mission! You're going to have a blast serving! Love you bro. Keep reading your scriptures and keep studying your spanish.

Cassidy- who was your first date? Yeah- if you feel you are ready for your Patriarchal Blessing that is awesome! Yes, those boys that added you on FB are in my barrio here. One is going on a mission in August. That is cool. I bet you are way ready to go to girls camp. And that's really cool to hear you are 2nd Counselor in Laurels. What a blessing to have a calling. Love all the YW and be an example to them. se fuerte and always remember that you are a Daughter of God. Love su hermano meyor

Hey Close Family (my sister & her family)- I'm doing great here! I have a new companion that is great! I am really into soccer now (I never thought I would be) but it is way fun! I love playing on P-days. Everybody is amazed when I play basketball because I slam dunk it here! ha! I'm busy with lots of investigators and I was challenged to beat the gringo record of 101 baptisms by President Hansen. So, I'm working hard. Sounds like everything is great with ya'll. That's good that you're getting settled in. Moving is not fun. You should just move to Oklahoma... haha! But for the survey... 1- I love Reese's Fast Break. 2- idk what I can't get here so sorry on that one. 3- I love Pringles and they don't sell those here in Teziutlan. 4- Pudding cups would be great! I love ya'll (yeah, I'm from Oklahoma... haha!) Love, Elder Robertson

Wow Grandma! That is so true! It's so important to listen to the Spirit and to the men who hold the Priesthood. I'll bet the funeral was very spiritual and such an amazing experience! I love you grandma & grandpa! I love being a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church was restored on this earth and I love to wear the name of Jesus Christ on my chest everyday. I love you all so much! Love, Elder Robertson

New Companion! Letter 7-12-10

Dear Family-

I miss all of you but I am so incredibly happy and honored to be a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to be carrying the name of "Jesus Christ" on my name tag. It is an amazing service with so many blessings. I love every minute of it!

I love the people of Mexico. They are also funny! It seems like everyone wants to take a picture with the big white guy- ha ha ha! My spanish is getting better. I can understand about 90% of it now. I can talk in conversations. We eat pollo a lot here with every meal. And did I mention every part of the pollo? Everything in Mexico is great and the people here are still hung up on soccer which is cool. I actually love playing it. And yes, it rains everyday on the mountains.

My new companion is Elder Meza! He is from Chihuahua (like the dog) and he is really awesome! He is from the Tampico Mission. He is a hard worker and loves the missionary work like I do. We have at least 3 baptisms this week (maybe 5-not sure yet). President Hansen told my new companion that I am a "milagro" and that I know how to baptize! My goal is to beat the gringo record of (101 baptisms)... just watch me! We are finding more people everyday that just want to hear about the gospel. I am really excited that we have zone conference this Thursday here in Teziutlan. It is always great and I love to see and talk with President & Sister Hansen.

Thanks dilla (Cassidy) for the pictures. They were awesome and you look so pretty. Hard to believe my sister is 16. Have fun at football frisbee! Love you sis.

ha ha Clayton! get me a juice box- funny kid! Where does he come up with this stuff? And grandpa's truck looks awesome! Love the color!

No way Lebron, Dwayne and Bosh! That's crazy! And I'm happy to hear Durant will be with the Thunder when I get back. How was the canoe trip? I bet mom was mad that you got sunburnt, huh?!? ha ha! She always says, "Make sure you re-apply the sunscreen" and somehow we always miss a spot. Yes, I do remember the testimony meeting last year. That was so awesome and really spiritual. I'll never forget it either! Love you guys.

I received a letter from Tyler Bean today. It was awesome to hear from him! I need President Bean's email so that I can email him back with all the answers to the questions he asked me about Mexico.

I have a question for everybody- how did you feel when you heard that Colton was called to Peru? I want to know because I wasn't there when he opened up his call. I still cannot believe that he guessed his mission. How did he know he was going to serve there?

I spoke with President Hansen about the package and Uncle Forres. He was bummed to hear about Uncle Forres. He said that the package would be in good hands only if I share it with him! ha ha!

I want to let my family, ward family and friends know that I chose to serve a mission for our Heavenly Father because it is my sacred calling as a worthy holder of the Priesthood. I hope that all young men are working daily and setting a goal to serve a mission as well. I have spoken many times in my letters home about this. Continue to keep all the commandments, pray before you read your scriptures and after, and always remember to be an example to others. Treat the Young Women with respect. I promise you, the heavens will be opened and you will be blessed beyond what you've ever imagined. I am working hard to be the best missionary and to continue to be an example to all of you. It is always a highlight of my day to hear from you. Letters are very important to missionaries. And although I might not be able to respond to all letters, I appreciate them so much. I love you all and thank you for your support that you continue to give me. I am just working hard & I enjoy being a missionary.

The church is true!

Con Mucho amor- Elder Robertson

Letter 07-05-10

Ty- That is sweet that you get to go on the canoe trip. Hope you all have fun! 52 miles... that's awesome! How's football? any schools looking at you yet? No new companion yet. I had 1 baptism this week so I'm now up to 23 baptisms. We went and played soccer today as a zone. It was so sweet! The computer that I am on right now is alright so I will try to send pictures. Love you bro.

Hey sis- I'm good. I am working hard and baptizing. I have 23 baptisms now. I don't have a new companion yet. I bet you are excited about camp. Just strive to be the best and to be the example to everybody there. You are going to have a lot of fun. ha ha- mom didn't forget and you couldn't buy fireworks this year! That is so funny when she caught you- actually all of us! Mexico is great! I don't want to go back to the States... I am loving my time here serving the people & the Lord. Seriously, the people are awesome! Love you sis

ha ha Colt! Clayton is so funny! Soon, he will know more about Peru than you do! When is your ward talk (farewell)? Has Bishop given you your topic yet? Just keep working and in the mornings study your scriptures and Preach My Gospel. That is awesome that you are working hard though. Mexico is awesome. Most people are very sad because they lost in soccer. Keep up the good work! Love you bro.

Tanner- That's awesome that you are going on the canoe trip! Have fun and don't cut your foot in the river (last scout outing Tanner went on he cut his foot open). Yeah dude.. dunk it (basketball) for me if you can. Tell Shad hey. Glad he's playing ball with you guys. ha ha- you miss my potatoes man?!? That's awesome!! I don't eat a lot of potatoes here. Continue this week with reading your scriptures and setting goals! Love you bro.

Hey dad- I had octopus today. It was actually pretty good. I liked it! We are baptizing and working so hard here. I set a goal for at least 100 baptisms, and I work everyday to accomplish that. I am working hard at studying the language and my scriptures. I love hearing your testimony. How's your calling going? Anything new? I know that If I continue to work hard and do what the Lord expects of me... I'll be good.

WOW! You are right mom, what a legacy that Uncle Forres has left for all of us. What a great role model! You know that he is with Aunt Carmen, his parents and siblings. What a reunion they are having in heaven! And I'm thinking of Jacob too. Hard to believe it's been 8 years. I agree with Aunt Caecie, he is serving his mission in heaven. Families are Forever. I love you Mom.

Tell the Murray family that I am receiving their Dear Elder letters and I will write them next Monday when I have a little more time. And thank you! The ward doesn't realize how special and important it is to hear from them. It really makes our day! ha ha- I love Nola and Ross! They are so cool. Tell her it shouldn't be a problem and I will call President Hansen today and explain about the package.

I was really happy to hear that Elder Hawkley is officially out on his mission. How blessed our ward is to have 2 Elders currently out... soon 3! Remind the ward family to write! You just don't know how important it is.

I am working hard to do everything that I can do to reach my goal of 100 baptisms. We are very busy here and it is an honor to represent Jesus Christ and our church. Remember to do you part by Keeping the Commandments, reading your scriptures, having personal and family prayer and also loving one another. The church is true! I love sharing it with my brothers and sisters in Mexico.

I love my family. I love you mom with all my heart. Tell everybody I love them and to write!

con mucho amor,

Elder Robertson

Letter 6-27-10

Hey Tanner! No new foods here. We eat a lot of tamales, tacos and eggs. I am up to 22 baptisms now, so I'm working hard to keep it up. Look up missionary work and look up the scriptures in D&C. Those scriptures are modern revelation to Joseph Smith about missionary work. Keep on reading & studying your scriptures. Hope basketball is good for you right now. Hope you have a good week. And are you going on the canoe trip? Love you bro.

Hey Cassidy! Happy 16th birthday! Have fun! I'll bet your room looks awesome. ha ha the dance was la fiesta themed? Did you have a pinata? Wow, youth leader at camp? That means that you have to be an example to all those girls that you are in charge of. You'll be great. I want you to read a scripture- Mosiah 13:20 and think about what it says. I love you so much sister.

Hey bro (Colt)! Happy Birthday! Hope it was great! That's a good job you have! Don't drop it! Do all that you can to keep that job as it's really good pay. Even if you go to church for Sacrament Meeting do it. And keep talking to your boss. I promise you, it will work out! Trust me. ha ha ha I loved the picture of you and dad with the sombrero hats! Oh, don't worry about having to eat guinea pig. Just try it! I have tried things here too. ha ha~don't worry about the food though, just eat a ton in the MTC and you'll be fine. I have 22 baptisms and I have 3 more this week so I'll have 25 by next Monday. read the scriptures that I told Tanner to read. It will help you in your mission and read the scriptures in Preach My Gospel. Do you have el libro de mormon? Start reading it in spanish to get your accent down. Even if you don't understand it. Love you bro. Keep up the good work and don't worry about the job thing. Pray for the right decision.

Hey Ty- it sounds like they need to announce the youth dances or send out reminders. It does sound like it was fun though. Man, the canoe trip will be so much fun for you guys. I can't wait to hear about it. Where are you guys going? And for how long? Hopefully you will get this job with Colton. That would be sweet. Love you bro- keep up the good work y se fuerte.

Hey Mom! My week has been good. We had 2 baptisms this week and we found out that one of my convert families are getting ready to go to the Temple to do baptisms for the dead for the first time. This is very exciting becuase in less than a year they will be sealed together in the Temple and I will be able to be there with them and see it! I am so incredibly stoked! Elder Gil is here for another week because the changes from the mission Tabasco are not until next week. So, I'm still going to be in Teziutlan. We have 3 baptisms for this week so we are working really hard to to make that happen. We are also working hard to get new investigators too. We contacted 140 people just to get 1 baptism. Elder Gil and I are working very hard on missionary work! That's pretty cool that Kirsti joined my blog. And tell Zach- Denver North! That's so awesome! He will need to know that this will bless him in all his life and that if she loves him then she will wait for 2 years and it's not the end of the world. That's cool dad loves his calling. I knew he would. Yep, I received Aunt Cari's package! I loved it and I loved the sunflower seeds and the poptarts! Tell them thank you and I love them very much! Their support means the world to me. ha ha Clayton is so funny. I love his little sayings. I laughed pretty hard when I read that! I'm happy they got their house! Love you Mom

Hey Dad- With the Young Men just keep them going to church and keep reminding them of the importance of serving a mission. If you engrave serving a mission in their minds, they will always remember that it is important to serve. Goals is something we teach people here in the mission. And how we need to work hard to achieve our goals and never fall short. Wow! How many missionaries are going to be serving? That is awesome that they will have a lot! Just keep the ball rolling and make sure the Young Men are being examples. I will hit my 5 month mark on July 3rd. Time is flying way too fast here. I don't want to leave. I love baptizing and teaching the people here in Mexico. I know that you felt the same way in Korea. Are you watching soccer? Tell Colton to start playing soccer again. I finally gave into soccer and I am loving playing it! ha ha weird huh?!? I love the pictures of the sombrero hats and your peace signs. ha ha! Love you dad- have a great week!

Love you family. Hope that you have a great Family Home Evening tonight. Remember to always be an example to those around you. The church is true and I love being a missionary and serving the people of Mexico.

con mucho amor,

Elder Robertson