First week not being a trainee.

This week has been pretty good!! My new area is awesome! The people here are super cool and super nice!  Elder Washburn and I get along pretty good!  That is awesome that you got put in young women’s!! That will be super fun for you! Ha that is crazy to think how soon Kaylee will be in there with you but even crazier I will be home before that time!!! Ha-ha that is weird to think! I don’t think Elder Washburn has a blog though. It sounds like things are going great there! I finally got the video of rob and Amy telling everyone!! That is so cool how they did it!!  That is crazy Brett is training with the high school teams now I bet he is going to be huge when I get back.... ha-ha just kidding that’s not going to happen! (Wink wink) speaking of getting huge everyone in my last area kept saying I was getting bigger and my arms and stuff are getting big but that was mostly elder Gish so I was like yeah right he is just trying to make me feel good but I weight myself this week and I was at 75 kilograms!!! Which is 165 pounds! Ha-ha I was freaking out I am getting fat. Ha-ha no not fat but I am putting on some weight! I weighed myself again last night though and I am 160 lbs pretty crazy!! My shoulders are getting bigger and my chest is too!! You can’t see all the bones in my chest any more... ha-ha I am starting to look husky instead of a skinny twerp!! Ha-ha it is kind of cool.

We have an old family that we go and visit a couple times a week and they are super funny!! It is a mom and her son, she is 91 and he is 61! They are so cute!!! We went over Friday night because they wanted to take us to dinner and when we got there all the lights were off and it looked like nobody was home so we called them, they answered and said they were just upstairs so we waited outside their door for a while as she slowly came down the stairs!!! She is 91 and can do the stairs!!! So crazy! Then when we went inside they asked us if it was morning or night because they had just woken up!!!! Ha-ha it was so funny they thought it was 5 in the morning and they were wondering why we came over so early!!! Then we went to dinner and they ordered enough food for all of us but then they didn’t eat!!! So we had a TON of food!!! And when we thought we were finished they ordered 25 dumplings!!! Which I normally only eat like 12 for a normal meal.... so that was fun trying to eat! Then they kept trying to order more food!!! The funniest part was when we were leaving the restaurant the guy asked if we had eaten yet.... he is kind of handicap so he always asks us if we have eaten and that is like his go to sentence if he doesn’t know what to say!! Ha-ha then when we got to their house he asked a couple more times and the grandma just looked at him and started laughing!!! She called him an idiot and said we just ate!! It was so funny!! Ha-ha they are so cute!

Our area is where a lot of rich people live to and it is like a really big nice city! There is an Audi, Ferrari, and BMW dealer ship in our area so there are always sweet cars driving around!! We saw an awesome Ferrari the other day!! It was sweet! It is weird the things you can do here that you would never do in America!! For English proselyting I stood in the middle of a huge intersection right by the mall holding a sign ha-ha there were scooter flying past me and huge trucks and nobody honked or anything!!! They just looked at the sign and went around me. I think a big reason is because I am white. Ha-ha, just kidding but kind of not they think we are so cool here!

Things are going good here! We have a couple baptisms for the next couple weeks the only bad part is it is almost Chinese New Year so nobody wants to meet.... It is like Christmas for them but for a whole week!! It is going to be crazy!! One of our less actives invited us over for it and said to asked if we could stay out until 12 that night ha-ha probably won’t happen but it would be fun!!! We will probably get fed a lot!! Should be a good week as long as we can get people to set up.... Love you guys!!

Love Elder Roberts!

Bat Cave

A mother nad her son.

Training is over

Okay mom I will answer all your questions haha I am doing good, super excited to be in my new area everyone is always talking about how cool and good this city is! This is kind of the area Elder Gish was in before he went to Taiping. My new companion seems like he is going to be really cool!! He snowboards and Rides dirt bikes, and his brother is a professional football player for the Detroit Lions!! He plays DE his name is Ezekiel (Ziggy) Ansah so that is pretty sweet! Our apartment seem really nice to it is pretty small but still nice! :) I and Elder Gish traveled pretty much the whole way together! He got off like 30 minutes before me! Saying bye was weird but it was real quick because he was trying to get off the train!

This week I went on a couple exchanges with some of the Elders in our district and one was with my best friend that ran into me last time... this time it was a lot better though we went out and I could tell he was having a rough time and he was super down so we did something that Elder Gish taught me, we went to McDonald’s and I bought him Ice cream and we just talked for a while! It was really good and it made us be a lot closer and the rest of the exchange went pretty good! :)

Something sad but happy at the same time, we had 2 baptisms set up for this last Saturday but both of them said they were not ready and now they are getting baptized this Saturday and me and Elder Gish are both gone... super awesome that they are getting baptized but super sad we won’t be able to be there and see them be baptized!!

This week we had an English party and of course we waited until the day of to set everything up and get ready for it so Wednesday was super crazy!! We did a murder mystery, kind of like clue in real life and it was with super heroes! My group was super crazy!! It was a bunch of little kids and then we had a couple girls that were probably just a little older than Kaylee! One was super cute and reminded me a lot of her!! But the other two weren’t very nice! They stacked a bunch of chairs on top of each other and started to climb up them, then they wrote the F word on the white board and they wouldn’t listen to us at all.... haha it was very interesting!  It went pretty good! I also got a baseball glove from one of the Elders that was by my old area! He said he didn’t use it so he gave it to me! It isn’t like my glove at home but will definitely work for here!

I was almost one of the people that went and helped with Dan Jones!! I was super nervous but then I let another Elder go because one of his friends was coming on and I didn’t want to go embarrass myself!! I have started learning Characters and have started reading the book of Mormon a little bit! I don’t really understand much and can’t read too much of it but for how much I know there is a lot that I can read and understand!

Things are going pretty good on this side of the world hope things are going good over there!! Love you guys! 

Love Elder Roberts! :)

Here are some pictures of some recent converts.

other photos

Last week of training

This week has been super weird!! The beginning of the week was super slow!!! At the end of Friday we had a total of only 8 lessons for the whole week but we made up for it on Saturday!! We were supposed to have about 10 lessons on Saturday if everything went good. But it didn’t and not everyone showed up.... we still ended up getting 8 lessons from 3 to 9.  In the morning we had 3 people cancel on us so we started to think the day wasn’t going to be as good as we thought. At 2 we played basketball with the young men and then had a baptism after the baptism we went and played more basketball then 2 investigators called and asked if they could come meet with us because they forgot earlier, but they wanted to meet right when we had another lesson set up so that is when everything got crazy! I was in a lesson with Alan then left him watching a movie and talked to brother Zhang then went back in with Alan. After Alan left I had to ride down and pick up one of the zone leaders to do a baptismal interview for us then came back and had a lesson with brother Zeng and Zheng that was crazy haha Then we rode up to the hospital to see one of the other elders investigators, while elder Gish went and did a baptismal interview for one of their investigators. After the hospital we went to brother Jiang's house and taught him then at 9 o’clock we finally got to take the zone leader back home.... haha We barely made it back to our house by 10! Such a tiring but awesome day!!

 

So a little about our investigators. Alan is pretty crazy!! haha

hetold us a story on Saturday about why he doesn’t live in America anymore?  It is because he almost killed someone... he is handicap now and can’t even feed himself... that was kind of an awkward lesson. He also swears a lot!!!!!! Our first lesson he said the F word 4 or 5 times talking about how big the dear are in Canada... Super awkward!

 

Jiang is super awesome he has a really bad problem with smoking and has gone through 7 missionaries because of it. He had a dream that smoking was bad for him and so now he hasn’t smoked or done anything for over a week and is now  hopefully getting baptized this Saturday!!

 

A lot of funny things have happened this week because of how slow it has been we have had to find ways to keep ourselves entertained, like putting bikes on top of buildings or taking the front wheel off and putting it somewhere else :) even the elevator is a pretty good hiding spot for the bikes.... haha until the Ap’s come down for an interview then that is kind of awkward... haha good thing they like us :)

 

Today we went to a bat cave and that was super sweet. We got to walk around in bat poop that came up to our knees.... haha it was so crazy though! We went through the cave twice. The first time wasn’t to bad but the second time they had all woken up and were flying everywhere!!! It was crazy! It was super small we had to duck through most of it so there wasn’t much room for them to fly past us and they kept smacking into our hands and they were super close to hitting us in the face!! Then we played in a little stream that is by the cave. It was pretty fun.  It was super cool I will try to send some pictures! I hope they turned out good!

 

Mosiah 5:2,4,15

Moroni 7: 47

Alma 38: 5

 

I love you guys hope all is well there!!! 

 

Love Elder Roberts!

 

Hope you like these haha :)

Trip to the bat cave!

 

 

Pictures taken off of Taiwan Taichung mission blog.

Taiwan Taichung Mission Welcome Video

pictures courtesy of Elder Gish, Elder Gish testimony for those thinking of serving a mission.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!! Posted: 06 Jan 2014 07:53 AM PST So with the new year comes miracles, goals, and best of all, clean slates to start getting things going!...kinda like baptism ;) Well since there aren't many emails in the inbox this week.. (hmmhmhmh *clearing throat ;)*) haha. Atleast I will have a good amount of time to write this email to everyone! (image from the official Taiwan Taichung Mission Blog) So funny story...I might have gotten some of my Dad's blood in my veins...why do you say?...I am a prankster at heart hehehe...and when you have a district full of really good friends...every once and awhile...it might come out. Well we have started to every so often hide each others bikes when we have long days at the chapel...Well, it has always been small things like behind a tree or bush...in a large trash can...an elevator...but then...one day; Elder Roberts and I walked out to find only our helmets on the ground. We looked in the normal spots and nothing...then it happened. We looked up. Yup...the bikes were on the roof of the churches storage building!! We were like, "WHAT THE...." haha, it was so good and so funny! I love this district so much!...Stories will come soon of how we upped that one...haha Also Elder Roberts and I have developed this habit of every so often talking like children...it is a weird habit....but it is SOOO FUNNY holy cow. SUCH a good stress relief! Anyways, HILARIOUS story. Elder Roberts had this bag of skittles and it was late at night and he read the bag in this kid voice and on the bag it says "guess what is inside?" and he said in his kid’s voice "...skittles I hope...otherwise I am going to be very upset!" hahahahahaha It might not be as funny over email...but I was DYING laughing for like 15min!! It was SO good, I love Elder Roberts so much! Such a fun and hard working companion! Good Job Mama and Papa Roberts!! ;) I had the worst dream last night though and I thought I would share it with everyone for the reason of pointing out what the mission means to me and how much I would plead that ANY and EVERY youth go on their mission..I PROMISE YOU nothing could be more important than this and you will NEVER regret going on a mission, but you will eventually or at some point regret not going or quitting. So in my dream I was home and I was so happy to be with my family and to see everyone. At night I started to unpack my stuff back at home and I pulled things out and was remembering the amazing people I have met here and the experiences that I have had and all of the sudden a huge fear struck me so hard and I called for Mom. When she came in I said " Mom I don't think I should be home yet....my mission is not finished...why am I here? I need to be back in Taiwan...I am not finished yet!" At first she questioned me and then after talking for a little I realized that I was home early and I just started crying and crying and saying that I was not finished and shouldn't be home yet. That was pretty much it. Now don't get me wrong I am SO EXCITED to be able to see my family and friends and all that...however I LOVE my mission so much. It has meant so much to me and I don't want to waste a single second out here because one day it will all be over...and I will start crying and miss it. I know without a doubt that this gospel is true and that Jesus IS the Christ and that he has called modern day prophets and has restored his church! I would ask ALL, even long time members to get down on their knees and ask their Heavenly Father the truth of all of this...I love it so much and I love you all so much!

Happy New Year

First off I want to let you in on a secret!!! haha It really didn’t snow here.... Sorry mom haha that is a picture Dave sent me to trick you guys!! I hear it worked!!! haha So funny!! It would only trick a blond! I love you mom. It is starting to get warmer again, it is back up to the 70's again so it feels really good right now! I have been pretty healthy. I got a little cold but other than that I am doing pretty good just home sick sometimes It’s a good thing. I can do hard things!!

 

For new year’s we had such a party!!! I think we stayed up until like 10:31... shhhh don't tell president ;) haha No we didn't really do anything we are so tired at night we just want to go to bed as soon as we can!!! 

 

Zhang dixiong (the old guy) is doing well! He is so cute!! every time he sees us he walks in with this huge smile and give us a high five!! He is so happy now and is always smiling and always wants to hang out with us! We see him almost every day and if we don’t the next day he calls us and tells us to come over and he gives us drinks and stuff so we will talk to him ha-ha He is such a cutie!!! Love him!

 

Me and elder Gish have kind of been talking in little kid voices a lot lately and the other elders asked us why we do that and we weren't really sure but the other day in my personal studies I read in Mosiah 3 and it talks about how we need to humble ourselves and become like children!! haha When I read that it made my day and I have showed everyone it! :) The other day I was going to open a pack of skittles and on the pack it said "what’s inside?"  And me being me, in my little kid voice, I say "Well it better be some skittles or I’m going to be mad!" and Elder Gish thought it was pretty funny and we laughed for quite a while!! It sucks we only have 2 weeks left we have become such good friends It is almost like we are buddies in college except we have an awesome message and I have no idea what anyone except elder Gish says... haha But it is super awesome and I have grown so much and I know without a doubt this is the true church and I am doing the Lords work!! I love being a missionary and being able to helps so many people!! Love you guys!!!

 

love Elder Roberts

阮俊雄 

ruan jun xiong

The pictures are of some awesome pancakes we had and Elder Gish's bike. (note to self, No tricks on bikes)