Baptism of Chris and Crystal just before Josh transfered from Spokane.

Overdue Update

It is hard to believe that it has been since July that I have updated Elder Robertson's blog. So much has happened during the past 3 months that I better give the Reader's Digest Version of the new developments. Elder Robertson was assigned to work with Elder Starnes for two transfer periods, but then he was assigned a "Greenie Missionary" Elder Miller. this is Elder Robertson's first time as a trainer in addition to being the District Leader. He has loved working with Elder Miller and the two of them have been teaching many people. They had a couple of baptisms, a little girl named Faith, and a guy named Jacob who looks like Vin Disel. They have another person, Jeremy, on date for baptism, and the two of them are teaching Maggie, Jane, Andrea, Antonio, Frank, and Robert.
Last weekend Elder Bednar from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited the mission and Elder Rasban of the Quorum of the Seventy was with him. Josh seemed especially touched by Elder Bednar's address. It is amazing to witness the transformation that is going on with my son. He doesn't even realize it, but the Spirit has tutored him in such a way that can't be described. I asked him recently if he feels like he has changed and he said he didn't notice anything other than he has a greater love for the scriptures and that his testimony has grown. But what I notice is the change in him because of his deepened testimony.
On the lighter side, Elder Robertson's very first companion, Elder Hunter has finished his service as a missionary and returned home to Colorado for almost one month before he left for college. He called our home to visit with us. How fun it was to chat with him and talk about the things that we learned from Josh through letters, and to learn a few things that we didn't know.
I gave Elder Robertson a hard time about his hair cut and gave him new instructions on how to get it cut the next time. I basically told me he liked his hair just fine and it was easy to take care of. I guess I can't mother him like I would like to anymore.
Yesterday was transfers again, and it looks like Josh will be in Moscow for another 6 weeks at least. By then he will be so close to his halfway mark. I never thought that I would say this, but I can't believe that it is going by as quickly as it is.

Elder Robertson called to be a District Leader

Elder Robertson was newly assigned to work in the Moscow Idaho area. He was originally paired up to work with Elder Smith, but after some medical challenges, Elder Smith was moved closer to the mission home in Spokane. Josh's new companion is now Elder Starnes. Josh was also assigned to be a District Leader, aka DL. He is doing his regular work as a missionary, but know is also responsible to motivate, train and care for other missionaries in his area. He has a great love for the work and the other missionaries that work with him. As a mom, I am so happy to see him grow spiritually and personally.

Good bye Spokane.....

After being in the same area of Spokane for 6 months, Elder Robertson is being transferred. He is headed to a new area of the mission, Moscow Idaho. His new companion will be Elder Smith, and Elder Robertson will also have new responsibilities as Sr. Companion and District Leader. He is humbled by the new assignment but is facing it with great faith. Even though he is very excited to meet the new adventure in Moscow, he is sad to leave all of the great people he has come to know and love as his second family in the Shilo Hills area. Elder Robertson's new mailing address is 617 E. 6th St. Moscow, ID 83843. Drop him a note, he would love to hear from you!

May 4th, the last Prep-day before last transfers, a group of missionaries in Spokane took the opportunity to play and see the sites, since they knew many of them would be leaving the area the next day. They had a great time playing in the park. It reminds me that even though they are busy working most of the time, they are still young men who like to have fun and be a little goofey!

Elder Robertson gets a new companion.

We just received Elder Robertson's weekly email and he reported that he is staying in Spokane for at least another transfer, but his companion, Elder Hunter will be moving on to a place called Hayden Lake in Idaho. Elder Hunter was Josh's trainer and the two of them have been together for 4 1/2 mos. Josh said, "It's going to be weird to see Elder Hunter leave." Hunter is going to be a District Leader in his new area. Elder Robertson's new companion is Elder Connolly. He has been serving for 8 mos in the mission. Half of his district is switching up, but Elder Robertson's close friend Elder Jacobson is staying also in the same area, so he was happy about that. He seems excited to face the new changes and to move forward with the work. There are many people who seem to be close to baptism commitments and he is glad to stay longer and see what more work he can accomplish in the Shilo Hills area of Spokane.

Investigator update

President Clark is nearing the end of his term of service as the President of the Washington-Spokane Mission. He goes home at the end of June. He recently had a meeting with Elder L. Tom Perry, a member of the quorum of the Twelve Apostles, about the progress of the mission. The mission has had a goal of 90 baptisms in one month for some time now. It was met in March, just in time for Elder Perry's visit. Elder Perry now has issued the challenge of 100 baptisms in one month. Elder Robertson was excited about trying to meet this new goal. He has spoken of some new investigators, Chris and his wife Chrystal. He says that the two of them enjoy the lessons and compete with each other on who gets to read the scriptures aloud during the lesson. This brought out a laugh for Elder Robertson. He also spoke of Robert, a gentleman who recently moved to the area from Sudan, who seemed very receptive after his first lesson on the restoration of the gospel. They also have met another woman who has been a member of the church for most of her life, but for the past 30 years has been inactive. She was married to a man who held ill feelings toward the church and didn't allow her to attend. Now that she is separated from him, she has sought out the church again, and has been attending. Her daughter who isn't a member is also interested in the church and is now taking the lessons. Another man, named Paul, also heard the lesson on the restoration and was very excited about what he learned. Elder Robertson and his companion left him with the assignment to read all of chapter 10 of the book of Moroni and most specifically Moroni's promise issued in verse 4 of the same chapter . Paul completed this and then later in the week phoned them, and asked for more reading assignments. They directed him to read about the plan of salvation. Paul also attended church this week. So, in all, Elder Robertson believed the week to be "a pretty good week". It is great for all of us to know that the difficult times don't stay long, and with continued hard work, the gospel does move forward. He ended his weekly report with, "I love being a missionary and being in the Lord's work!"