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

First email from NJ

Hola!

so im in new jersey! ive been assinged to a city called red bank. my comps name is elder hannah from utah. i arrived in the philly airport yesterday around 4 and spent the night at the mission home/office, whatever it is. we had dinner in the misson home and it was all green food, or at least most of it was - theres a story to it but i'll let you guess what it is until next week. we filled out some papers for president and sister winegar and went over some things. this morning we had breakfast in the mission home and took some pictures - you might be getting some of those but not from me. i will try and send some pictures next week.

After breakfast we went to the stake center. there were 6 missionaries leaving and my group of 6 new missionaries coming in. it was fun to do all of that. after that my companion and i were taken to lunch at cracker barrel by a member (english) and that was good. it is really green here and tons, tons, tons of trees. lots of grass too. i only have $130 a month to use so i'll be spending very frugally. we went shopping already and spent $15. i guess we are fed pretty well by the spanish members and it almost always includes beans, rice, tortillas and something else, i'm not sure.... we played basketball with 2 other companionships which was fun.

Tonight we're teaching a PMG class with some members in spanish (obviously) so that will be fun. its very different from what arizona is in terms of stores and sidewalks etc. there is the river here but i don't know what the name of it is. its been really windy throughout the day and hasn't really slowed or stopped yet. it's also been cloudy. right now were walking around but normally we'll use bikes which means i'll need to get a bike but with the changes in july, i might end up in northern jersey (the morristown i believe) and i don't think bikes are used there.... i'll figure that out for sure. this is the last full transfer for the mission and the next one will be 3 weeks. we'll see how that goes. i guess there is a lot of poison ivy and oak and stinging nettle around here as well as ticks but more or less in the wooded forest areas which there are a lot. im in an apartment which is pretty small - i open the door and immediately walk up stairs. its a good size living room but small bathroom and kitchen and 1 bedroom big enough for 2 beds and 2 dressers. there are 2 closets, 1 in the bedroom and 1 in the living room. laundry i guess is right outside the apartment so it won't be hard for to do laundry. what else do you want to know.... my suit case that i sent in the mail came today so i'll get that tomorrow. i do need to buy blankets but i dont know where and when and how many i want yet. it will just be better to send mail to the mission home or office (whichever address you gave me 505 south lenola rd etc). i'll get it the day after it gets to the mission home. i already have a card grandma roberts sent me. as far as pday goes, i'm not sure what time i will email so i would say email tuesday just in case.

Im not sure what else you want to know so let me know in the next email and i'll do my best to answer. i need to go. thank you for the love and support and everything else. i'll call again on mothers day but since there will be 3 elders calling, plan time wisely and let me know when is best for me to call - i'm 3 hours ahead of you - its 6:50pm right now. i love you all.

love elder roberts

Last email from the MTC

4/23/10

Hola!

so everything is going great. i leave on tuesday from salt lake and will fly to the philly airport - time is going to be really hard to get used to. i think i am able to call home on tuesday before i go through security - if i am im assuming it will be before 930 at the lastest in the morning. im not positive. so we got snow again on thursday and today it is raining, alot. it's nice and i'm trying to get pictures. so there are 6 people in my travel group, im the only spanish - i just met 2 sisters and they said when they got their packets from the mission pres it had my name, not theirs. hehe kinda funny. so i feel like the spanish is coming, obvilously no where close to being fluent but it is coming. elder bown and i taught we belive the best lesson 2 days ago in spanish since weve been here. it was crazy.

yes the time flew by but i'm ready for a change. i'll be sure to let you know what i need when i get to nj. i sent a suitcase to nj. 20 bucks for it but its better than taking the risk of paying 80 bucks extra. im glad gemma has started walking again - i think she's had too much fun taking advantage of everyone carrying her everywhere. i sent a package home - before you open it, it's a backpack one of the kids could use (more mason when he starts school next year - it can be a birthday gift for him from me) but that is completely up to you. sounds like conference was good. if you go to the temple dedication, let me know how it was - im sad im going to miss it.

im glad emilys concert was good and that everyone enjoyed the trip and the meteor crater. sorry i cant stay another week julie but i dont control that. everything is great and im super excited to get out and work in the real world. i've been in a bubble the last 2 months - i can't even think of sentences to use that are not gospel related (thats for spanish practice). its been a great experience and ive enjoyed it thoroughly. the church is true. there are reasons for everything and it's through prayer and scripture study and attending church that we all can know why different things occur. my favorite scripture is proverbs 3:5-6 and i'm really starting to like ether 12:6. they can help us in many things. i love you all and thank you for everything. the next time i wrtie i'll be in new jersey. you can send pictures through email to me and i should get them just fine. i'll try to send pictures too. i love you all and thank you for everything.

elder roberts

Email recieved 4/16/10

Hola

yes the package got here safe. thank you so much for that. the backpack i had was not large enough to hold everything i want it to. my backpack is and it will last my whole mission. i love the letters and pictures. that is really exciting that emily made 2nd in all-state. good luck emily and congratulations.enjoy your trip to flagstaff - i'm sure its like the weather here, snowed on monday or tuesday in the middle of april - unfortunately i couldn't get any pictures of it but there are plenty of mountains around that i am taking pictures of, most of them are filled with snow.

today is cloudy or overcast, whatever it's called. my companions that i am rooming with all got their travel plans ayer so i'm hoping that i wil get mio (mine) today. rates for checked luggage went up - when i flew in, if you remember, it was $71 for bags over 51 pounds, pienso (I think). ahora (now) it is $80. pues tengo una semana hasta salgo el ccm (I have one more week untill I leave the MTC). i'm going to be doing alot of teaching next week antes de salgo (before I leave). it will be fun and i will be even more exhausted than i am now. gym time has now been moved to outside and we have no option of going inside unless we just want to run or use the wieght machines they have. they are redoing the bleachers in the gym so for the first time i've seen sun and guess what! i got suburnt. haha i haven't seen sun forever.

rob i got a letter from your 1st cousin mark - he gave me some articles that are pretty good. i've enjoyed them. so because this i'm pretty much on my last week (i think i leave on monday the 26) if letters or anything else is sent to me at the mtc, try to get it sent before wednesday just to be safe. the temple today was great. thank you for the mission address. i'm sure i'll be sending my heavy things to my mission for super cheap and avoid paying $80 for a bag over 50 pounds. i love you all and thank you all for your support. it's a great experience and it will be a blessing for everyone.

Email sent Friday April 9, 2010

hola

todas cosas estan bien aqui. estoy positivo que escribire cartas a traves email cuando estoy en Nueva Jersey.

Anyways yes the time here is going by really fast. it does feel like a long time but at the same time it doesn't. this morning i was eating breakfast and it felt like sunday to me. we just finished an endowment session in the provo temple. the language is coming along great - we have a district goal to speak only spanish or as much as possible while we are here. thank you for the scriptures again. they help are very nice to have since we can't listen to music while in the mtc. the president of the mtc is doing an 8 week trial period of no music in the residence halls and it happens to be while i'm here - my branch pres. said we could listen to the scriptures though b/c it will help with the lang.

My comps name is elder casey bown. he is from a very small town of i think 200 people and was raised on a dairy farm (he says himself he is a hick). he has an accent but i cant tell anymore. we get along great and our teaching has been growing stronger too. thanks for gettign the blog - grandma roberts sent me a card asking about it. i'll write her later today. thats good to hear gemma is or was walking. i'm sorry its not gettting better though. i'm sorry mom didn't do the easter dinner. that didn't even cross my mind. conference wsa great - i loved it, but my bum didn't (haha). one of the sisters in my district looked at me as elder anderson gave his talk - i didn't recognize them for sure. you could try to send pictures - i don't know untill you try it. it could change though once im in new jersey. and yes i have seen randall around. i actually ran into him his 2nd day here and we have almost the same schedule for gym and meals.

Yo se que la iglesia de Jesucristo es verdad. yo se que el libro de mormon es las palabras de Dios a traves sus profetas antiguos. yo se que jose smith fue un profeta llamado de dios y trandujo el libro de mormon. yo se que el sacerdocio es la autoridad y el poder actuar en el nombere de Dios. the church is true and i will not and cannot deny it no matter what occurs in my life. the best joy is seeing the people who don't have it come to know it is true too.

i love you all and thank you for everything you have done for me. without you i wouldn't be here serving the Lord. (Rob you might have to translate and sorry if what i said doesn't make sense).

Elder Roberts

April 2, 2010, Email

Hey all

so i don't know if you got my email last week but seeing as how i don't have one today from

you, i just remembered that i sent the email to rob and he is probably working. anyways it

snowed yesterday and i think one other time this week. the days just blur together so i dont

remember much ever. i think i've started my 6th week here but who knows. i'm supposed to

leave before the end of april. Happy Easter on Sunday! i hope you enjoy it. general conference

is tomorrow. enjoy that. it's going to be a neat experience for me. rob we've made a district

goal to speak only spanish or as much as we can before saying anything in english and we

are only teaching in spanish now, lesson 1 and lesson 2. thank you for getting the scriptures

on my ipod and for the worthers. i appreciate it. the worthers will keep me awake during the

day. i have a blue card that i get $6 every wednesday night and that can build up so don't

worry about buying me pretzels or whatever else i said i'd like. there are vending machines

that have pretzels in them and i can use my blue card to buy those. anyways times about up.

i love you all and thank you for your love and support for me.

love craig