Happy Easter From California!

March 28th, 2016

This week was a good one! Easter really is such a great holiday. It was truly a great day to see how all different faiths recognize the importance of Christ's resurrection. 

As for things that happened this week, I got to go on an exchange where I was on a bike again! It felt awesome to go out and get to talk to literally everyone in our path! I can just imagine someone looking at us and thinking, "Why in the world are they so happy?" Two 20 year old guys on bikes wearing dress clothes and talking with a bunch of strangers about religion. I can imagine how strange we must look to those around us. As I think about it, it shows me how this really is the Lord's work and that as we take the focus off of ourselves and put it on others, we receive more joy in our lives.

Another small note, attitude is a big key to success. You can do the same thing as somebody else, but the only way that it will have a positive impact on you is if I allow it to. Don't be obedient with a sad face, but just live the gospel and have joy in doing so! Have joy in living the gospel!

I hope that all of you are as excited for conference as I am! have a great week! 

Elder Roberts 

Zone conference (Jaden top center dark suit)

Zone Conference luncheon

Mission Leadership Conference

Following are pictures posted on the Fresno mission blog from March 2016 Leadership Conference 

Another Week from Elder Roberts

March 21, 2016

Awesome week this week! Another great lesson was learned and a lot of great experiences had! It is such a privilege to get to be here as a missionary and have all of these incredible spiritual experiences and also the opportunity to live the law of consecration. 

This week we were teaching someone named Kaylee. She has had a hard time believing that God truly does exist and that He is really there for her. She has had a hard time following through with her commitments as a result of this lack of faith. But it was really cool, something seemed to click for her and she came to church this Sunday. It is cool to see how Heavenly Father is really such an influence in this work. Little by little she is coming to know that Heavenly Father is really there and loves her. 

I also got to do a baptismal interview this week. It was the coolest experience how she expressed that she use to be an atheist for 20 years. One day, they finally accepted to listen to the missionaries and ask God if the book of Mormon is true. They said that they received that answer and could not deny it, even though she had had those atheistic beliefs for so long. She expressed this same testimony at her baptism on Saturday. What an example to me of how God really prepares people for us to teach at a certain time.  

On another note, I was thinking about obedience and the importance of it this week. I was thinking why it is so important that we obey all of the mission rules that are so specific and small. I was then taught through my studies an awesome teaching. Obedience to these small and specific rules shows our commitment to the Savior and his commandments. This commitment to obedience is key. When missionaries go home, these small rules are no longer there to give you an exact outline of how you must live. What will help keep us on the correct path is our commitment to the basic commandments that God has given us. Prayer, scripture study, Sabbath day observance, family home evening, etc. Our commitment level from the mission will translate into our obedience at home. I invite each one of you to think about your commitment level to obedience. How committed are you to being obedient to His commandments? Now we won't be perfect, but are you committed to try everything in your power to follow them?  Heavenly Father will never force you to be obedient, but when we sacrifice and consecrate ourselves to doing His will, we will feel true and lasting peace in our lives. 

I truly do love the Lord. I cannot express how grateful I am for all of your prayers in my behalf. Know that each and every one of them are being heard and that I am immensely blessed. Hope that you have an incredible Easter! 

Elder Roberts

Here is a picture of one of our exchanges. Sorry, I forget to take pictures sometimes. 

Following is a picture I received from the Ward Mission Leader who had the elders over for dinner

Big Week!

March 14th, 2016

First off, I want to say happy birthday to grandpa Graff, Cameron and Daniel! I hope that each of you have a great day with family! 3 in a week is a lot!

As for here in Fresno, all is going well! I am constantly striving to find what more that I can do to be better. I have found that as we do this, the spirit will reveal to us our weakness. As in the talk last conference, 'what lack i yet', there is always more that we can be working on. Sometimes Heavenly Father waits until the perfect moment to tell us what we can do better on. I have found that as we are constantly striving to become as Him, we receive the blessing of the spirit. I love seeing all of the patterns that there are in having the spirit to be with us. We can have the spirit with us and be content, but there are more things that we can do to have it be an even stronger influence in our lives. If we become content with where we are at, then we will stall out in our progression. Now that doesn't mean that we cannot be satisfied with our progress, but it means that we need to constantly have the desire to be as our Heavenly Father is and always striving to do so. As we follow that pattern, the spirit will play a much larger role in our day to day activities. 

Oh, and I spoke in church yesterday. I talked on the plan of salvation, which is always a great topic. I love my area and the great potential that it has. The Lord continues to bless us. I love getting to serve. Hope you all have a great week!

Elder Roberts

PS here is a picture of our truck we drive!

March 7, 2016

3/7/2016

Another week!

Hello again to everyone! Another awesome week here. We got to go play racquetball this morning with a 70 year old member and his buddy at the naval base. It was super fun getting to learn how to play and seeing how good he was for his age!

 This week we found an awesome family named Elijah and Raquel. They are this awesome couple that are totally ready for the gospel. They have 5 little girls, all under the age of 10. It reminded me of Jeff and all of his little girls! But they are totally prepared. I absolutely love getting to find these people that the Lord wants us to teach. I don't really know how to put into words the joy that I have at this time in my life. I cannot describe the joy that I feel getting to consecrate myself to the Lord. I love how there is so much to learn and how every day teaches me a new lesson. There isn't anything that I could think of that could be better then experience that I am having right now. I have learned that the key to happiness is to enjoy the presence of the spirit in every moment. If you have the spirit, you are happy. As we do things to have the spirit with us, we live lives that are full of joy. As we make decisions that don't invite the spirit (breaking the commandments or mission rules), we don't have the spirit, and thus are not truly happy. 

I hope that all of you enjoy this upcoming week!

Elder Roberts 

Here is a picture of when I went up to Merced last week.