The church is true!

Good morning!!

So sounds like you had a good/busy week! Would you be able to get a copy of the church news somehow (whether it's the actual newspaper or print it off of the internet) and save a copy? I haven't seen it yet and probably won't until i get home unless my mission pres. and his wife have a copy and show it to us. And yeah the service is absolutely amazing! Yesterday was fast Sunday with gen. conf. on sat and sun this week and the stake pres. was in our sacrament mtg. he talked about the service and if I’m correct said that with 3,000 volunteers over 18,000 hours of service have been given and over 600 homes have been cleaned up/out. And it's still not finished. This past sat and sun we went back out again and helped more people clean everything up. We’ve also been asked to go out again this Wednesday.

And with transfers imp staying in my area and my companion is leaving.... it's going to be a blast because my new companion will only speak English 99.9% guaranteed. I have 4 transfers left starting today and I’m hoping I’ll finish my mission in this area. I love it that much. It’s awesome! Thank you for sending the package!!! If you sent it earlier in the week i should be able to get it tomorrow at transfer conference..... I’ll let you know next Monday. Thank you for sending the iPod and shaver and treats and pictures!!! I know they'll work out great!

Tanner - i love you bud!!! Mason and Gemma i love you too. I miss you all (that includes the family/friends).

So with the weather it's warmed up again here too. The 70s with humidity. I know it’s not as bad as AZ heat but it is warm for this side of the country. I’ll remember to pray for cooler weather for the wedding!

Progress of investigators.... well our best investigator, jean, has committed to come and watch all 4 sessions of Gen. Conf. this Saturday and Sunday!!! We’ve been struggling to get her to come to our church so to get her to commit to watch Gen. Conf. was a HUGE blessing!! We’re super super excited for her and the experiences she will have. We’ve found a couple who are in a very very "tight" position in life. The husband is an in-active member and his wife is not a member. all we can do with them right now is help them clean up their lives through the gospel and once that is done, if things can be changed, they will progress more and more and she'll be baptized. They have super super crazy stories which I’ll share probably when i get home. It’s a "crazy" situation. and we had the blessing and privilege to give a blessing to a 13 year old girl whose father is not a member and 2 of her siblings are in-active. Her mom and sister however are very very active and super strong/faithful in the church so we visit them every week. It’s always a good experience visiting with them.

I love serving a mission. I love the members and it honestly feels like they are my family away from family. Whenever I’m in the church i feel like I’m at home and safe and nothing can get to us. That’s all i can really think of at this point. Other than Saturday and Sunday the rest of the week seems like a blur to me. It’s crazy!

Anyway mormon.org is awesome!! It really is a great finding source and it truly interests non-members and with all of the service we've been giving more and more people are noticing the church and all it does. Take the opportunity to share the pass a long cards with everyone. All you're doing is inviting them to visit a website but if you think about it you're doing so much more than that. You are offering them the opportunity to find the truth and their salvation!! You are being a missionary yourself as you invite people to visit the site! And you will be blessed for doing so. You will have no greater happiness in life either than that of seeing someone go from confusion to great joy and happiness in their everyday life. It is one of the greatest feelings ever!!!

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ. Everyday i give thanks to have grown up with it in my life and to know what i know and to be able to share that with everyone. I’m grateful for the Atonement which allows us to repent and also extends life to immortality and allows the family to be together forever! And you all know how much i love you. Obviously i can't really show it right now but i tell you every Monday. I truly do love you all. It is because of your examples and choices in life that have helped me gain a stronger witness and testimony of the gospel and helped me get out here to share my conviction with those who need and are looking for it.

General conference this Saturday and Sunday! Watch it all and reread the articles when they come out in November! I’ve made that my goal for the rest of my mission and the rest of my life. Going back over the articles brings so much joy and happiness to life and reminds us of what the Lord expects of us in this life. Have a great week and enjoy conference! I’ve never been more excited for something than conference this weekend! I love you all. Thank you for everything! Stay safe!

Love Craig

Craig in the Church News

These are photos taken by a church photographer of the "Stake Service Day" after the hurricane. Im only posting the ones Craig is in plus a few others to see more pictures click here.
You can also read more in the church news, and they feature a picture of Craig.

Good afternoon!!

First and foremost.... you need to check the church news. And if you haven't received an email with a link for pictures, tell me. Those will be the most recent pictures of me and of the clean-up we've been doing out here.

Wow sounds like a super crazy week!! Lots of information. I’m glad work is going well. I’ll continue to pray that all will go well. Jason’s birthday, Hannah through the temple, the wedding in a few weeks.... I’m missing it all!! Ha-ha oh well. I’m serving the Lord and i couldn't ask for anything better! Thanks for the info about the kids/Emily. Hopefully i won't miss anything else while I’m out. That’s cool to hear Morgan is engaged.

so the schedule here is still mixed.... i think this week we might not be doing much during the week but the weekend we might have another service session. Like i said at the beginning, you need to get a copy of the church news; i have a picture in it! And the photographer said he'd send you an email with a link to see all of the pictures he's taken since day 1 of cleaning up NJ.

Hey mason! Guess what, a huge tree was cut down and we had to carry all of the logs to the side of the street to be picked up. There is a picture of me carrying some of the logs. Ask mom or dad to help you print off a picture or 2 and show them in primary (if you want to). Great job on your talk bud!! I love you!

With the family, we were going to go over last night but they weren't home and we weren't going to make it on time either so it worked out however it's sad we couldn't meet with them. Next week will be better, well this week!

Ha-ha oh yeah the weather is awesome! It’s an Arizona winter right now. The temps are in the 60s. I still haven't seen a 70 or higher the past week. It’s felt so good in the mornings while we're out running!

With the package - we have transfers in a week.... I’ve had mixed feelings. i might go or i might stay.... it's probable I’ll stay yet I’d like not to make assumptions because president Jepson is making crazy changes.... we'll find out on Sunday/Monday before emails. As far as the razor goes you can send it out. You can send it to the house which is:

5 pangborn place #4H Hackensack, NJ 07601

you can send it to the apartment if you think it'll be here before next Monday.... i don't like to take risks (even though this isn't a risk more me getting the package sooner than later after it gets here).

Anyway it's been a crazy fun week. I love being out here and I’m excited for all of the changes that'll be occurring. I know the gospel is true. No one can disprove it. from church on Sunday a brother said quoting Joseph Smith, "Si no vive para servir, no sirve para vivir" and in English "if you don't live to serve, it's not worth living" (the English is a translation from Spanish - I’m not sure that that is how Joseph Smith said the quote but it works really well in Spanish which is why i said it in Spanish). That statement fits well with the current clean-up project going on.

Anyway have a great week! I love you all! Thank you for everything! Have a great week! Be safe and let me know if there is anything i can do.

Love elder Craig Roberts

Still cleaning up

Good afternoon!

So 9/11..... From what i know not much happened in NJ; however i was in homes cleaning up again on Saturday and Sunday. I’m sure in New York it was crazy.

As far as the flooding goes, i think NJ is the hardest hit area.... on Saturday we went to Paterson to help clean up and roads where the water had receded flooded again. We didn't do too much work then. On Sunday we were driving to Lincoln Park to meet up at the "headquarters" and as we were driving roads were being blocked and closed etc. so it made for a difficult trip. We finally got there. The area where we went after the headquarters was mainly yard work and we had more than enough people coming to help for that one home. So we asked the homeowner if she knew anyone and she said her neighbor across the street. We knocked the door and we found ourselves a basement that is large enough to be a home to clean up and clean out. With 20-30 people and 3 1/2 -5 hours’ time we had the basement looking like nothing happened. It was a crazy project.

It’s crazy that Austin is married and i got brain and Hannah’s invitation. It’s crazy that he’s getting married before I’m home. It’s God's will.

That makes sense about the 70's. missionary opportunities definitely are popping up all over as the service is given etc. a lot of the people we've talked to have asked about the church etc. not much could be said or done because we are not allowed to proselyte during service. It’s a beginning that'll lead to baptisms in the Lord's time.

The media blitz thing they've already started in Times Square etc. in New York. It’s been crazy! I’ll let you all be surprised for yourselves if you haven't seen the new pass-along cards etc. you'll be amazed. Check out the website!

Another quick story. On Sunday after service we weren't sure who to visit. We remembered we had a media referral to visit so we went to them. Before we got the referral we had planned to find a family (mom, dad, 3 kids - 2 over 8 years old, 1 under 7 and they speak English and Spanish). One day we knocked homes in the pouring rain for an hour looking for the family. No luck. Last night we visited the referral and we found the family! It was awesome. They had been taught one time by elders in NY. They read a chapter in the book of Mormon and understood it perfectly. As we taught they understood everything. They are prepared!

The Lord works in mysterious ways. Always keep the hope and faith that at the end of a trial or hardship or challenge etc. the Lord has blessings waiting beyond measure! Stay happy and rejoiceful as you recognize the blessings come to you as you keep the commandments and stay faithful to the gospel!!

I love you all. Have a great week! Stay cool and safe.

Love Craig

Hurricane Clean up

some pictures of the supplies sent by the church to help those affected by the hurricane

Good afternoon!

well i'm glad your trip to the ranch was fun! Sounds like traffic took its toll on ya.... hopefully you were able to rest well. And I’m sorry about the heat..... It’ll go away sooner than later, considering it’s now September. Yesterday and today we've been in the 60s with rain and some wind.

So the pictures were outside the member’s home we stayed at. I didn't get any pictures of our area. All day Sunday (2 weeks ago) we cleaned out the basement of the member’s home then we went to other members homes to clean out more water from basements. That entire day was spent out of church clothes and service..... Our minds were being flipped around trying to comprehend not teaching during the day (and we didn't have church)....

So with my companion... we get along great. he was born and raised on a farm.... he's used to working super hard all the time and wants to get things done one after another. It’s great! We have half and half for English to Spanish lessons and a lot of the Spanish people know English to a point where he can say some things and they'll understand. And he'll say some things in Spanish but not very much. So I’ll teach most of the lessons on my own (well the spirit will guide) then in English we both teach. It’s pretty fun. I enjoy it a lot. And transitions.... for the most part it's not too hard yet at times during a lesson i might say a word or two in Spanish and catch myself half way through the word. It’s funny.

So this past Saturday and Sunday were interesting. All day Saturday we were put to work physically going to one of the hardest hit cities in NJ to help clean up. One guy told us the water reached 26.7 feet (26. something for sure) completely engulfing homes. They said there was 2 rivers that had met and combined creating one large river or lake etc. and that had never happened before.... we were tearing out walls, carpet, furniture, appliances etc. due to water damage. Such a sad yet humbling experience to see the disaster yet truly become grateful for the blessings of the Lord for His protection over us. I didn't take pictures and it would've been bad if i did; someone painted on ply board "sightseers go away". These people have lost almost everything!

On Sunday all meetings in my stake were changed; only sacrament meeting was held and it was only 30 minutes long at 830 am for the entire stake. After the meeting all wards were invited to go to a headquarters and put on a yellow "helping hands" shirt and that Sunday was dedicated to give service. That Sunday definitely did not feel like a Sunday to me at the end of the day. The area seventy for our area, Elder Olsen, was in my sacrament meeting and he also was out helping clean up too. He had a photographer with him who was taking pictures of everything. I had the opportunity to ride with them in elder Olsen’s vehicle and talk with them a little. It was a cool to be in the same car as an area seventy. Are area 70's different from a normal 70? I looked in the gen. conf. ensign from May and i couldn't find his picture in either of the 2 quorums of the 70.... Anyway lots and lots of service. I did not feel like a missionary at the end of the day and we showered and dressed and taught a lesson or two after service so it was a very long day for us (sat and sun both).

Monday was p-day.... we went to a chapel to play basketball and it happened to be the chapel where salt lake set up headquarters for a command center for the hurricane relief and a 54. 3 foot long semi/trailer was coming in to drop off emergency supplies and we were asked to stay and help unload..... I’ve never had such a work out unloading a truck like that.... i am still sore today from everything. I’ll send pictures so you know what I’m talking about.

3 days of service..... It was a super fun and humbling experience. Always be grateful for what you have and food storage is always a great idea, especially water. That’s been our experiences for the week. The photographer with elder Olsen took some pictures of me while we were out and about. I don't know if you'll be able to see them or not or what will happen with them. Just a heads up. I know the church is true. It teaches correct principles and warns and exhorts long before disasters occur. President Monson is guided by the Lord to instruct us in all we do so we may be safe and worry free when those times come. Follow the prophet and all will be well. You will not have to worry about anything because the Lord will provide. That is His promise to us His children. We need to have to faith to walk and do and we will be blessed. the sons of mosiah didn't know where they were going or where they were going to sleep or what they were going to eat etc.... they were protected and guided by the spirit and had success in all they did.

I love you all. Thank you for all you have done and do for me. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. Enjoy the week! I hope and pray that work and school are going well for everyone! Stay safe and cool. Let me know if can do anything to help out.

Love Craig!