Email recieved 5/26/10

This week each of us sent him a separate letter, so he is responding to each one at a time

Julie,
thats cool that the weather isn't bad yet - today is pretty hot but we've had other days close to today or about the same. the humidity really does make it worse. don't worry about the cooking - all is well and i'm doing good. i only have $130 for the month so i need to spend it wisely, especially because the church wants us using our church card as much as possible, for as much as possible (except for souvenir items, bikes etc).

i went on an exchange on monday and monday night i was in the kitchen getting some water and on the counter there was a cookbook that was for missionaries - it looked really good and had some good recipes. i don't remember the name of the book though - the most that i will probably really cook is lunch meals and sometimes dinner - really it's just a matter of having the right items for different foods.

all is well though and i'm not starving. yes brian gets home in just a few weeks - i can picture everyone getting ready for that. it's great that he'll be back soon. i'll try not to get hit again - my bike is starting to get ruined but i feel that i will be going to the morristown mission (the north part) which is an all car/walking mission, except for the area i'm in and they might make it a car/walking mission after the change anyways so i won't have to worry about being hit on a bike and i won't be doing any driving any time soon.

i love you and thank you for your letter. i really do appreciate it. thank you for everything you have done for me as well. i wouldn't be here without you. oh and if you are able to, would you please get me john and erins email or home address or both and the same with paul and blanca? i'd like to write them as well. thank you for your love and support.
love craig

Mason, Tanner, Gemma,
I love you kids so much!! thank you for your letters!

Gemma i hope you had fun playing with your cousins. it sounds like you had a blast!

Tanner i promise you i will bring home all of the pictures you draw and send to me - i won't lose a single one! you are great with drawing pictures and i love them so much!

Mason i hope you have fun with your last 2 days of school! i hope you have fun going to the ranch with heidi and grandma this weekend! I miss you kids so much and i will be home before you sooner than you think. thank you for your letters - i really do love them!
love craig

Emily!

Haha yes i remember the lip thing from the trek - actually when i read that part, a picture of your lip from the trek was the first thing that popped into my mind - i'm sorry its back though. i hope it goes away soon. you are a very smart girl - you shouldn't be worrying about anything because you are going to do great on your finals. continue to pray for help and guidance and the Lord will bless you as you are being obedient as i know you are, as you always have been! that is cool that you might get a paid playing position for the symphony - at least it's some more money coming in and anything helps.

brian is almost home - make sure you have a few weeks blocked off to spend with him; he's going to want that. he loves you so much. thank you for praying for me and thank you for your love and support. i really would not be here without it. there is one thing that i keep thinking of and that is the P90x workout thing you have for abs - will you please, when you have time, write out for me what all you do and the repetitions etc? i'd like to use that to help keep me in shape while i'm gone and maybe i'll have a 6pack before i get home - i'm not eating very many sweets, if any and i'm not buying them either. i'm being carefull about what i eat on my own and how much i eat.

and if you are able to, will you please get me paul and blancas email or home address or both? i'd like to be able to write them too. i think that is everything i need right now.... i love you and thank you for everything, for your love and support tambien.
love craig

Rob,
thank you for having everyone write me something and for sending me the card and blanket too. i should get it pretty soon after it arrives since this transfer is last one as the cherry hill mission - we'll have lots of meetings etc. so i'll get it soon. ya it's crazy thats he'll be home and i'm gone. it's fun though and brian and i get to experience what john and jason went through - their missions overlapped as well. i wish i was able to go to brazil too but i know i'm supposed to be here and that it's the Lords timing, not mine so i'm not worried one bit.

it is crazy that heidi is graduating - i got her announcement - it'll be even more crazy that emily will be going through that same thing this time next year. jsut saying emily is 17 seems wierd enough, she'll be 19 when i get home, maybe. i'm glad everyone got to enjoy the temple dedication. that mustve been cool to watch. yes temples are important and thinking about it, when Elder Holland came, he did mention something about going to see the site for a temple that monday morning but i think it's for the philly area.

your welcome for the info. i was planning on giving more last week so i wasn't going to just say i got hit and not say anything else - i guess if i was hospitalized i would've been able to call home (3rd time in a month and a half) but all is well. there is hardly any damage to the bike so if i took a picture, the bike would seem normal so i didn't take a picture. haha i love the kids so much. they are a joy and they make me smile everyday.

i was talking with my comp about Irma (our invest. who doesnt want to be baptized) and i guess she goes to church with one of her best friends - missionaries a long time ago were teaching Irmas friend but ended up just going over to talk instead of teach, i believe, so if the missionaries then would've been teaching Irma might already be baptized or would want to be baptized (irma claims she is catholic, goes to a diff. religion church every sunday and is taking lessons from us) i jsut thought about it we had a lesson with her after a couple of days of not visiting her and we taught/talked about the Restoration with her and read the Joseph Smith exp. with her out of the scriptures and at the end of the lesson she told us that the same thing is happening with her.

we ate dinner last night with a part mem fam (husband is a member and wife is not - have 2 kids) i was trying to talk with the husband, Manuel, and he reminded me of a good point - we might be here to only plant seeds of the gospel in peoples hearts and other missionaries later on might be able to work better with the invest. so my thought was that maybe we're only supposed to plant a seed and help it grow and later on someone else will connect better with Irma.

the weather is warming up - its pretty hot today but we're inside most of the day - pday ends at 6. tonight though another companionship has a dinner cita and we've been invited to come too so we'll be there and then my comp and i will go teach our pmg class after the cita. that reminds me that last week after we taught the pmg class, the members made arroz con leche (the rice and milk drink that i believe has cinnimon- i dont know if youve ever had it) and that is one recipe we'd like to get so we can make that at somepoint.

also i don't know if you've ever had or heard of tres leche cakes but we had one yesterday and it was really good. it looked like the cake was made yet it was soaked in milk so when you ate the cake, it was soft, not really soggy but you can see that it is wet and they put some filling in the middle of the layers of cake. (I'm pretty sure we've had this at Rob's parents house several times, he probably never paid attention) i don't know how to make that and maybe i'll get a recipe for it and out here make it once or twice and see how it goes. it'd be cool if i was home before the march birthday week and i was able to make that for the cake or part of the desserts. it'd be fun.

anyway a couple days ago we rode out to a city called alantic highlands because we heard there are latino areas out there and we passed through a city called rumson - i was told that per capita, rumson is the wealthiest or richest city either in NJ or in the country, im not sure which one. there were definately some really nice homes with their backyards going up against the river or ocean or whatever it is so i have a picture or 2 of that i'm going to send home in another email and i'm going to send a picture of irma and i when we had the tres leche cake - it's her birthday today but we celebrated with her yesterday.

i'm glad everyone is doing good and i keep everyone in my prayers always. i love you and thank you for everything. really, without you and your love and support i wouldn't be here. i'm so gratefull for to have such a wonderful family who loves and cares for me so much. thank you for everything. i love you all.

love craig

This must be how missionaries connect with the local crowd in NJ

Some of the "wealthy" houses he talked about in his area

Craig and his companion, I assume, he didn't lable it

Craig with the other "greenies" at the mission home

New missionaries along with their trainers and the Mission President and his wife

Wed. May 19 2009

Hola!

haha i know. i'm sorry. (I told him he's not allowed to tell us he got hit by a car and then not give any details) yes i am perfectly fine. i really felt like when i was hit it was like i was playing football and someone tackled me. i just stood up and moved my bike out of the road. nothing was broken and i wasn't bleeding anywhere and i honestly felt normal so i wasn't worried. the driver stopped and made sure everything was ok.

so what happened was we had left our bikes at a members house over night and went to get them monday morning. we had an appointment with a recent convert near the memebers area. we were riding against traffic and came to an intersection off a residential neighborhood where the truck was turning right. he never looked right (i guess he didn't need to) and my comp sped up and i thought he saw us coming. he didn't so he started to turn and i was in the way. the bike wasnt really damaged - a broken pedal and a bent pedal bar and thats the worst of it. i have new pedals on it and am still riding it for now. so everything is good and i feel like it didn't even happen but again, it is a testimony builder of the protection we are able to receive when we need it.

i think next week is when i will find out if i will be in the north or in the south part of new jersey which will determine if i will need a better bike or not (i will buy a better bike if i am in the south, not positive yet if i need one for the north).

thats good that schools almost out. i hope they aren't driving everyone too crazy. mason and emily i hope you have fun and enjoy the last week of school. enjoy the swimming and all the other summer activities the happen.

i'm glad to hear the surgery went well (with Rob'd dad) and that everything is good with the baby (Susan's pregnancy). well i guess since everyone else is over their sicknesses i can start mine, if its a sickness. i think i might have allergies here b/c i've been having a runny/stuffy nose almost since i've been here. it's driving me nuts.

mark is going to houston texas! haha thats pretty cool, since my comp from the mtc went to houston texas east spanish speaking. i'm excited for him and i know he's excited too.

haha don't be sorry. you have already done so much for me and continue to do so that i wish i could repay you somehow now and after my mission. really it has been such a great blessing in my life and i know i wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the family and friends (the ward/stake too) i made over the past 3 years. i know i've changed immensely and i'm going to keep changing now and probably a whole lot more after my mission. honestly i love you all so much i don't know what i would be doing if it wasn't for you. so thankyou for sending my the blanket and card. i appreciate it so much.

i thought the temple dedication was last week or 2 weeks ago, when susan and luke and emily went down. thats cool though that it's on sunday. i would drive down for it if possible but enjoy it - again, i'm sad im not there to see it.

so one of our investigtors, irma, was sick and she had to go to a doctor i think a few days after our visit with her and we told her that in our church, we have the authority and power to give blessings of health and strength and she immediately asked us to give her one. so we pulled out a chair and we gave her a blessing and after wards she was kinda crying. everything went good and she got better pretty quick. that was something i know changed her.

we went back the next week to see her and we brought up baptism with her (she's had all the lessons and she was being taught before i even was in nj) and she said she wasnt ready or didn't want to prepare for it. we went through the baptisimal interview questions with her and she passed almost everything. one or 2 things she wasn't sure about but for the most part, she passed. for some reason, she doesn't want to be baptised and we're not sure what to do or where to go. she told us that we are always welcome in her home though. we arent meeting with her for a week so i hope and pray that over this week she sees that something is missing and that she'll think about becoming a member.

we have a baptismal date set up for the end of june with edwin, 19 years old, another one of our investigators. his dad is a member so we're hoping that all goes well and that he'll be baptized at the end of june. he's a great kid and i know that if he joins, he will have a much happier life. monday night we were with 2 members and we watched a 5 minute dvd on happiness from the church and we asked them how they have found and find happiness from the church after they were baptised - they both have given up so much of the things they've had or used to do for the church that it shows that they really know for themselves that the church is true. where they live and what they have is very very little, yet they are always wanting to do something for us and they always invite us into their homes. they don't have much they have the gospel, and because of that they are happy, and they always will be, even if they didn't have what they have now.

as far as weather - we've had cloudy days and yesterday was straight rain into the night and today is the same, except its not raining and if it does, its like a misty rain. i guess it's been in the 50s and 60s and will be for a while. to me it feels like it's in the 70s but it's nice and i'm enjoying it other than all the pollen and dust that is in the air (i think i have allrgies to it).

im glad you got the pictures. i'll try and send some next week of the rain we've had. i forgot my usb cord today so i'll remember to bring it next week. it isn't too bad of a place, just i don't like carrying a bike up and down carpeted stairs everyday and sometimes when i wash dishes, i think the hot water either will run out or just not work. i turn the hot water faucet almost a full 360 degrees before the water is coming out steadily. we have a laundry room in the back of the complex too, but we have to use quarters ($1.50 to wash 1 load/ $1.25 to dry 1 load) - i don't like that too much. anyways its fun and it works for what we need.

i love you all and thank you for your love and support and everything you have done and are doing for me. i pray for you all everyday. have a great week.

love elder roberts

i've heard that the suns and the lakers are playing in the playoffs now - whats funny about that is my comp is a huge basketball player and loves basketball - he loves the lakers; i'm from arizona so i'm for the suns - haha imagine what can happen in a companionship over basketball. nothing will happen between us b/c i just don't care who wins or loses. he says though that the lakers will go to the finals. we'll see what happens.

email recieved 5-12-2010

Hey everyone!

so Elder Hollands talk was great sunday night. he pretty much declared that men wouldn't do what they do with out their wives, meaning the wives, daughters, sisters etc. are more important than the husbands or brothers or sons etc. and talked about how much he loves and cares for his wife and that without her he wouldn't be able to do the things he does. he also talked about peter and the gospels (matt., mark, luke, john) and acts and after we ended everyone who was in attendance (the chapel was filled from the stand to the back of the stage) was able to shake Elder and Sister Holland's hand and talk for a minute. i gave him a hug too, as did many other people. it was great.

the blankets will be fine, Sister Winegar said that if i needed or wanted to, i can keep the ones she gave me but i'd like to give them back to her before this transfer ends.

ya it is crazy that brian comes home this next month but its great. he'll be a joy to have back home. its good that his last comp is american and that he won't have to babysit him (hopefully) - i flew to the mtc with an elder cason who was going to maceio so maybe brian got to meet him or even possibly training him. ha that would be cool. i will definately keep your dad in my prayers and i hope all goes well and i'll pray for emily too. i'll keep everyone else in my prayers as well.

ya thats cool that spencer is home now - haha i won't be trunky. i know the time is going to fly by. it's not something i need to worry about - what i need to worry about is the work and doing all i can in my power to fulfill my purpose and help those people the Lord has prepared for me come unto Christ. thanks for keeping me updated with the card. i'm not in a rush so you don't need to rush either.

the pictures are of my apartment and maybe of a passenger train that is used every day by tons of people. i love you all so much and thank you for everything you have/are doing for me and for your love and support. you are all in my prayers.

love craig

by the way, i was hit by a truck on my bike monday morning - Julie i'm sorry because i was wearing the grey slacks you liked and they were ripped so i can't wear them now unless they are sewn back together and the bike isn't damaged really either. thats my spiritual experience for the week.


(Some Pictures Craig sent of his appartment)

email recieved 5/5/2010

Hola!

so life in the missionary work..... well they weren't the best but I've only been here a week - we've had appointments fall through and some go through (those have been good) - for the ones that didn't work out we tracked and visited members or less active or inactive or old investigators etc. it makes me mad because i want to be in homes most of the day and no one here wants to listen or even acknowledge us saying hello to them. it drives me nuts. we had a really good lesson last night with a couple who lives in our apartment complex - they are very very smart and know the bible from cover to cover and are very active in their church - we intro'd the BoM to them and the husband was receptive but the wife didn't want anything to do with it and after a few minutes she agreed to study it or at least look over it. it was great!

we try and do most contacts in Spanish but we have done some in English. either way it works and if we get an ingles invest. we will give them to our English missionary's.

my area - well I'm in red bank and i don't like it that much - the roads are very bad and the sidewalks are not smooth or wide enough for even 2 of us to walk side by side. there are a lot of trees, lots of trees and it is green and grass everywhere. our area is pretty big and the northern most part is i think by the Hudson river and we can see NY city from it - my picture didn't come out very good. there are a lot of black people and latinos (mex, puerto rican, el salvador etc.) and white people. i guess a pretty good mixture.

i am in a branch of maybe 60-80 members.... Im not positive. as far as understanding the people - its coming along but it is still hard to understand b/c they drop so many different sounds and speak pretty fast still i cant tell if some words are actually one word or 2 words etc. again its coming along and I'll pick it up soon, hopefully this transfer.

i just emailed Luke back and told him that i do have the pin # written down but its in one of the tubs at Jason and amys, probably in a folder or book - it's actually probably still the paper i got when i first received my card so if someone wanted to go through the books and folder to find it they can but i don't want to hassle anyone with that (pulling it all out and putting away again). whatever is easiest though - ordering a new card would be fine b/c mine expires in 2013 anyway. i would say lets just order a new card and re-pin it etc - I'll probably be in this area until the missions change so at least 5 more weeks - my address to my apartment is:

#2 MollyPitcher Village Apartments

Red Bank NJ 07701

I don't think it matters for the street name.... i got a bike for $60 from a guy my comp knows - it's not a brand new bike or anything. we had to use cash and seeing as how i couldn't remember my pin# my comp gave the guy $60 bucks so i need to pay him back before this next transfer in case we are split so I'm trying to get that done. other than that i don't know that I'd need to pull out cash too often, if ever but it's nice to be able to do if i needed to. anyway back to the bike, I didn't want to spend a lot b/c after the missions change i don't think I'll need a bike, at least that's what pres. winegar told me but i am not positive. if i need a bike after the missions change i will buy a nicer bike or get one from a missionary who has left a bike behind.

transfers are every 6 weeks and with having only 5 weeks left of this transfer and 3 weeks after that (before the missions change) it's likely I'll stay in my area with the same comp but anything can happen so i am not positive. it hasn't been that cold at night but we do have a cooler in our room that we have been turning on - it's been kinda chilly. sister winegar lent me some blankets to use until i get my own - julie wanted to send the comforter i had to me and that would work fine I'm sure if she/you wanted to send it (if you send the blanket, send it to the mission home, not my address - i might not be at my home when it comes so it'll be safer in the mission home).

I'm sorry i couldn't be there to help move everything - sounds like it was fun and I'm sure the kids loved it. I'm sorry you got sick and i hope you are feeling better now. i don't know if you've taken pictures of all the changes but if you have would you send one to me please? it'd be cool to see what it looks like and any other changes too. I'll try to remember to bring my camera next week and send pictures of my apartment so you can see what it looks like.

as far as calling home on Sunday - it's a crazy day b/c elder Holland is going to be here to speak to us Sunday night and we need to be at the chapel early for seats and it's about 1 1/2 hours drive from where i am - i think the best time for to call would be before you go to church in the morning - I'm pretty sure Arizona is 3 hours behind NJ so in Arizona time it'd be best to call between 8am and 1030am (i think your church starts at 1030) - i don't know if you have meetings or not but i was thinking you could have a counselor go in place of you if possible..... i hope this is ok and works out. I'll email mom and let her know. i don't know if she wants me to call her separate or if she'd like to just be there with the family? i know its kinda early but with elder Holland coming (no one wants to miss that) it's harder to figure calling home out.

I'm glad Emily was able to have fun with Susan and Luke and vie and Shelby and Paul and Blanca over the weekend. i hope that they enjoyed the temple open house - I was kinda mad I wasn't going to be there but oh well.

weather - well I had my first rainstorm and windstorm - haha wow. so we were on our way to an appointment and it started to pour rain on us as we were riding our bikes down the street a long with strong winds - i was soaked and my backpack was too. unfortunately, i had the rain jacket with me but in my backpack and i didn't think it was going to rain - after we decided to stop riding in the rain, we locked the bikes to a pole and walked into a store a member owns and 5-10 minutes later, the rain stopped and it was sun the rest of the day. it was fun. yesterday we did a street meeting and kinda the same thing - we carried a table to the train station - it was sunny and windy - we had the table set up and a few minutes later these clouds move in and we figure "well we're going to get drenched again" but it didn't rain - it was just wind, very very strong and annoying wind. again, it all went away and it was fun.

I'm glad everything is going good. thank you for your prayers and support. i love you all and keep you all in my prayers. we'll talk on Sunday. thank you for everything.

love elder Roberts