Another Letter from your favorite Missionary, 07/11/16

Hey, hows it going? Great I hope!

These past few days since I last emailed haven't been super exciting, just your normal missionary work. Although, we had a pretty epic game of church ball this week in which my team won! I had all the Tahitians on my team so naturally we won. But I actually did really good at playing this week, and made some pretty decent baskets.

We did have some cool miracles this week too, well besides my team winning church ball and Portugal beating France haha.

One of the miracles was that we were able to pass off one of our amis to the elders. Now that might not seem like such a miracle, but as we met him with the elders, he not only opened up more, but it was the best lesson we have had with him. I think that the elders will do a fine job and that he will progress much better with them. 

-Funny story about this rendezvous: We were there with the elders teaching this ami and he invites us over to his house so we go. As soon as we get there he takes his shirt off haha... He is not the most in shape person..... Anyways, we just ignore it and as were teaching the lesson, his dog comes up to soeur Alberts and starts trying to get up her skirt.. It was just a mess haha and the whole time this is going on, our shirtless ami is telling us that we don't need to worry about his dog because he's a nice dog haha. It was funny, but like I said, a good lesson and the spirit was definitely present, which is all that matters :)

Our next miracle was that we were able to see our ami Bernadette this week. When we went and taught her, she told us that she didn't understand the Book of Mormon at all, so we read with her the chapter we had assigned at our last lesson (3 Nephi 11). As we read the chapter together, she said that she felt something good and we were able to testify that it was the spirit. We were also able to talk to her son Jonathan who is 10 and he said that he loves to read the Book of Mormon and that he wants to get baptized. Bernadette told us that she wanted to be baptized on the same day as Jonathan, but she wouldn't set a date with us because she has a really complicated situation right now. As we were getting ready to leave though, Jonathan told me that he wanted to be a missionary like me when he was older! I was so surprised when he said that! I was sparced (in our mission we use sparc to describe how we feel when someone gives us a compliment and we are completely caught off guard and just super happy inside from what they say because it was so incredibly nice and you just don't know how to describe the feeling).

The last miracle that I want to share happened on Thursday. Thursday we were on our way home from Lyon. It had been a long 4 days in Lyon and we were so tired and it was hot and we were thirsty. We decided to go to a store in the gare (train station) really quick to get a drink and while we were there i bumped into this lady and did the usual "pardon moi" and went to buy the drinks when she started speaking English. Here in France, we take advantage of contacting everyone we can that speaks English because it sparcs them as well as us ha. So I start talking to this lady and asking her where she is from and we get talking. Turns out that she is from a city near to Chicago and was actually lost and looking for help. We were then able to help her get to where she needed to go and and as we were in the process of doing that we ran into another American woman who was too lost! Cool story- they were on the same train! So we were able to help them get where they needed to go and were able to share the gospel with them. They called us their angels sent from God haha it was cute.

Well folks, that is about it for this week! I just want you all to remember that you have a loving Heavenly Father who is just one prayer away :)

I love you all!

Have a great week,

-- 

Soeur Keagan Robb

Weekly Spiritual Thought:

This weeks spiritual thought comes from a talk given at BYU called "The Quest for Excellence" by Gordon B. Hinckley. He says, "We will not become perfect in a day or a month or a year. We will not accomplish it in a lifetime, but we can begin now, starting with our more obvious weakness and gradually converting them to strengths as we go forward with our lives. All of us cannot be geniuses, but we can strive for excellence, This quest may be a long one. It may be fraught with much of repentance, and it will take much of effort. Do not sell yourselves short. You are sons and daughters of God, children with a divine potential. "Look to God and live" (Alma 37:47). 

I love this quote because it helps me to see that I can't be perfect right now, but I can start working towards it! This quote gives me hope that as I do my part and follow our Savior, Jesus Christ, it is attainable! So it is for all of us! So don't sell yourself short! Remember your divine potential, remember where you came from and who you are!

I'm Growing Up

Hello everyone! How are you doing? It's probably weird that you're
getting an email from me today, but we had such a busy beginning of
the week that I didn't have time to email! But so much has happened
this week, that I'm just going to focus on the miracles, because let's
be real, they're all around us!

Last week started off with a grand miracle. We were helping our ami
move with the Elders and I'll be honest, the only reason she needed
our help was to transport her TV in the Elders car.. So we were
feeling pretty useless when all of a sudden her daughter gets REALLY
sick. Her whole body just started shaking, and I'll be real, it was
kinda scary! But! Our ami turned to us and asked if we could set up a
time for the elders to give her a blessing, and since the elders were
there already, we were able to get her the blessing right there! As
soon as the blessing was over, the little girl stopped shaking. It was
a grand miracle, and proved once again to me that as long as we do our
part and are in the right place, the Lord will provide.

Through out the week we had little miracles where the Lord put people
in our paths, and one of those people was a sweet young girl named
Pauline. She has recently moved to Clermont and was looking for a
church to go to. As we talked to her, her spirit was so strong! She
agreed to meet us at church, but we forgot to remind her (our bad...)
so she didn't come, but we are working on fixing a rendezvous with her
right now to teach her more about our church. Prayers for her :)

There were so many other miracles this week but those were the two
that really impressed me. But the Lord is always blessing me. He is
always watching out for us missionaries and helping us along this
journey. I have been so incredibly blessed this transfer, like all my
transfers, and have grown so much. I LOVE being a missionary. I
wouldn't trade it for anything. All the things we go through (people
yelling at us, harassment, threats, constantly getting hit on by 40
year old men, etc) are all worth it when we see one person willing to
come closer to our Father in Heaven and His son Jesus Christ. I'm SO
happy I still have 1 year left to serve my Lord and give Him my
everything. If you're thinking about going on a mission, JUST DO IT!
There is literally nothing better!

I love you all so so much. I hope you have a great rest of the week
and look for opportunities to serve others :)

A bientôt!
Love,
Soeur Keagan Robb

Weekly Scripture:
1 Nephi 10:18- For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and
the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if
it so be that they repent and come unto him.

I love this scripture. God truly is a constant God, an unchanging God.
He loves us SO much that He prepared a way for us to become like Him,
and all we have to do is take advantage of the greatest gift given to
man, the Atonement, and come unto Him.


Big bisous from France,
Sœur Keagan Robb

The start of something new, 06/27/16

Hello everyone! How are you? So good I hope :) Let me tell yah, life
in Clermont is prime! Loving it to death here and it's only been one
week! We have had so many different adventures, get ready!

This week started off like a normal week, I got here and unpacked and
all was well. We did our groceries, wrote some emails, the normal
stuff :)
On Wednesday we found out some cool information. In our sector of
Clermont there is a soeurs equipe (companionship) and an elders
equipe. The elders equipe here was whitewashed (both missionaries in
the companionship got replaced) and we were getting a new missionary!
So Wednesday we were able to have a fun phone call with the new blue
and just got super stoked to meet them. They were able to come in
Thursday morning and we spent some time talking about our ville and
showing them around, all that. It was a blast and our blue is THE
COOLEST! His name is Elder Devin Sellers and he is from Portland,
Oregon. He's got a true love for the Lord and a sincere desire to be
here. His trainer is named Elder William Hoopes and he is from
American Fork (or as he says it "Mercan Fark") and will be going home
at the same time as me. As for my companion, I didn't get to say much
about her last week. She is super super cool and we are basically the
same person and already the best of friends. We know what each other
is thinking and are going to be the new dynamic duo.

This week has been a fun one for us here. We have taught a few people,
played some basketball with members, less actives, and Amis (I more of
chased the ball around and probably got the world record for most air
balls... Let's just say I could use some more practice haha not like
there's anyone that can help us.. Haha). We had some members invite us
over for dinner and got to experience a Tahitian BBQ! Oh man, SO GOOD!
I quite enjoy their salads, and I even tried cow heart! Mmmmm, so good
:) We were able to do a lot of work this week and just have had fun.
There really is never a dull moment here in Clermont-Ferrand. For
example, funny story of the week! We were at a dinner appointment (all
4 missionaries) with our recent convert Marie-José. During this
appointment, Marie-José began to tell us about her brother and all his
health problems. As she finished her sad story, Elder Hoopes
(pronounced as "oops" in French) said "oh, that's great" in a really
happy sounding voice. Soeur Alberts and I just start cracking up and
poor Elder Sellers, who didn't understand anything, was just super
confused while his companion was embarrassed for saying that haha. The
soeurs all had a great laugh...

Well, I just want you to know that I love you all so much and am
grateful for your love and support. Have a great week and God Bless :)

Love,
Sister Keagsta Robb

Weekly Scripture:
1 Nephi 4:1
This scripture is a favorite of mine. I love the question Nephi poses,
"For behold he is mightier than all the earth, then why not mightier
than Laban and his fifty, yea, or even than his tens of thousands?" It
is so true, the Lord is so mighty, and he is on our team! Isn't that
so cool?


Big bisous from France,
Sœur Keagan Robb

Getting Shut Down

Albi Branch Missionaries (Soeur Van Lone, moi, Elder Bentley, and
Elder Steinbock)

 Hey everyone!! How are you doing?? Fantastic I hope :)
I have some big news... They shut down cute little Abli ville! 🙁
President Brown called us Friday morning and told Soeur Van Loon and I
that he was very grateful for our hard work in the area, but due to
some problems with the ville, we would be closing Abli for the time
being. Soeur Van Loon and I were shocked! But it's a good move, and I
think it will help the area for the future.

So for me, I was transferred to an area called Clermont-Ferrand just 2
hours west of Lyon. My new companion is Soeur Alberts from Las Vegas,
Nevada. We already have so much in common (I know her cousin Caden
Allred) and are having a blast! I can already tell this transfer will
be incredible! :) I've already met a lot of members they're amazing. I
can tell I'm going to love it here :)

So for my last week in Albi, Soeur Van Loon and I tried to work super
hard and leave it "all in the ville" haha but unfortunately everything
fell through. Despite all that, we were able to have a blast, contact
a little bit, and make sure the apartment was nice and clean and ready
to be shut down.

I don't know what else to say about this week... Haha but I am excited
for my upcoming adventures here In Clermont! Sorry this is so short...
I promise I'll talk about lots more stuff next week! Haha

In the meantime... Be good, be safe, and remember that I love you!! ❤️

Big bisous from France,
Soeur Keagan Robb

Mission Français de Lyon
Lyon Business Centre
59 Rue de L'Abondance
69003 Lyon France

Weekly Scripture:
1 Nephi 1:20
This transfer I am starting the Book of Mormon in English and French!
I am ready 1 chapter every day :) I would like to invite you to start
reading the Book of Mormon again with me, just one chapter every day!
:)
Anyways.. Today during personal study this scripture really stood out
to me in my personal study. The Lord really does give us tender
mercies on a daily basis, and they are not by coincidence. There is a
talk by Elder Bednar called "The Tender Mercies of the Lord" from
April 2005 General Conference that I challenge you to read this week.
Ponder how you can be the "chosen" of our Heavenly Father and then do
it! Recognize the Lord's tender mercies in your life because they are
all around you. I've seen them so much as a missionary. He truly does
love us and plays a major part in our lives.

Dinner at Patrick's house, ( Our professional chef recent convert)

Lessons from Transfer 3

Soeur Robb and Soeur Van Loon

Hey everyone, how are things going? Super great I hope!

So this week has been a tough week! I will not lie, it has probably been the worst week, and I really didnt think it could quite possibly get worse, and then it did. haha but as with all things, there is always light at then end of the tunnel (or an awesome family who always has your back) and I ended the week with a definite bang and it was a really great ending. The mission is TOUGH! I never though it would be as tough as it is, yet it is SO rewarding. The Lord is always watching out for his missionaries.

So this week, with everything going on here in France, we didnt get to go out much, so I dont have much to talk about. Therefore, i decided to write about the lessons I have learned from this transfer!

Lesson 1: This transfer I have learned that we are all children of God, that includes yourself! I think a lot of times that the other people around us are children of God (or maybe we don't) but we take for granted that it includes ourselves! We really do have a Heavenly Father who is watching out for us and is guiding us. He loves us so much and really enjoys blessing us as we do what is right. 

Lesson 2: Patience- use it befor you lose it. This is a very commenly used quote on the homefront videos haha but its so true! A lot of the time you and your companion are different people who grew up in different backgrounds (there once was a companionship in our mission where the younger sister trained her big sister SO COOL!) and do different things that will most likely annoy us. No one on this earth is perfect, and there has only been one to live that was perfect. That is especialy true with missionaries, WE ARE NOT PERFECT! haha And in companionships there will always be things that the other does that annoys you or isn't right, but as you practice patience and charity, things will be okay! Getting along with people is not easy, but when you love them with a pure love of christ, it is easier.

Lesson 3: When you think you're humble, you're not. This transfer I thought I was so humble because I was tollerating people, FALSE! I was actually a pretty prideful person. I realized a little too late into the transfer that I was very self centered and was constantly complaining. As one of my teachers from the MTC put it (shout out to Frere Keenan), "One of the fastest ways to drive the spirit from your life is to complain. What is complaining? You are essentially saying, "This is unfair!" Or "This isn't how I want things!" Or "But I thought it would go differently, That is so AWFUL that the Universe didn't make itself the way i thought it should be." 

Listen to those messages you are sending god when you have a complaining heart, or when I have a complaining heart, and consider the universe you do live in. 

God created a world for you, His Son, Christ, Died for you so you could be forgiven. Christ did not have to, He chose to , and he would have chosen to if you WERE THE ONLY ONE! 

If the world was fair, There would be no world. Do we deserve this world through our own merits? Do we deserve salvation, so freely offered to us, on our own merits? 

No, These are gifts. On top of these great gifts of the opportunity of exaltation and salvation come gifts of the spirit, promises of eternal family, the spirit guiding us in our every decision. 

The world is unfair. It is hysterically hopelessly unfair IN OUR FAVOR! We are suprememly blessed and loved beings. TImes can be difficult, and the big picture can be hard to see, But remember how much the lord has done for you and how WONDERFULLY unfair life is before you allow your heart to complain. 

Rather be as Job, or Nephi, or Like Christ, be submissive to the Lords will and Full of Gratitude. Even the worst days are blessings we fought a war in heaven for."

This really made me think about what messages I was sending to my Heavenly Father, and I decided that I really needed to study Humility... So next transfer will be dedicated to Humility! If you have any good talk, scriptures, or thoughts, I would love to hear them!

Lesson 4: Contacting in the rain is fun! People feel so bad for you, and they commend you for what you're doing and actually like to listen to what you have to say. Plus, Soeur Van Loon and I quite enjoy dancing in the rain, so woo hoo haha

Lesson 5: I have a really cool heratige! This transfer I studied my family history and the history of the church to find out where I came from and how cool my family really is, and I found a gold mine of cool stories! We have some pretty big shoes to fill friends, and some of those shoes need saving! So learn who you are, where you came from, and do your family history! You may never know who is waiting for you to save them :)

Lesson 6: Sisters Conferences are SUPER COOL! Yesterday we went had a mission wide sisters conference. It was a blast to get to have everyone there and to have a conference. President talked to us about the need to step it up because we can't rely on the Elders all the time, he also said that we are a young mission and we need to step it up because we are going to be trained, and then moved to leadership positions and we need to be able to take responsibility and to lead in a positive manner. He said that it takes love, humility, and trust in the Lord. We also talked about getting along in our companionships. It was a very good conference and I really feel more united as sisters. I really hope that this becomes an anual thing :)

On our way to Sister Conference.
France Drivers are CRAZY!  If I can drive here I can drive ANYWEHRE!!

I learned a lot more, but I'll save the rest for another day and time so I don't put you all to sleep haha.

I love you all and am very grateful for your prayers in my behalf!

Also, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all you cool dads out there! Keep up the good work because you never know how much good you do in your kids lives. I will forever be grateful for my dad and for all he did to prepare me to be here today, and all that he does to keep me here on a mission. Love you dad :)

I challenge you all to watch this video and ponder about how much we love our fathers, and then ponder about how much we love our Heavenly Father!

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2014-00-1450-a-fathers-love-a-fathers-day-tribute-to-fathers-fatherslove?lang=eng&_r=1&cid=HP_TU_7-6-2016_dPFD_fMLIB_xLIDyL2-3_

--

Soeur Keagan Robb

Weekly Scripture:
1 Nephi 21: 15-16

I love this scripture. The Lord really does know us personally. He truly did suffer and die for each on of us the cross. He has suffered for our pains and afflictions, all that we would go through, and He did so willingly. He loves us immencly with a love that we can't even comprehend, Don't ever hesitate to pray to your father in heaven when you're struggling because He and His son Jesus Christ are always there, just one prayer away.

'Sup toute le monde!
How is everyone doing? Fantastic I hope :)

This week in Albi was a blast for sure! We got 4 new Amis! Woot woot!
I guess I should start at the beginning :)

Monday:
Monday we got to have a lunch appointment at the Bernardi's house! I
always love those.. We had to go over because Sandy (the mom) does
this thing called "magnetism" where she can tell how your body and
spirit are and she can tell you what's wrong...? I dunno.. She says
that I'm perfect and don't need it, which has only happened to her one
time before me! So go me! Haha but I guess Souer Van Loon needed it..
So we went and got it done for her and apparently it helps? I dunno
haha to each their own.

Tuesday:
Tuesday we got to contact a bit, look at an apartment, and work on the
area book. We also taught English class. I love teaching English
class. It's a blast! We are currently planning a 4th of July party and
its going to be epic! So if anyone has any favorite 4th of July
recipes or traditions, let me know! I would love to get some more
ideas :)

Wednesday:
Wednesday we got to teach a church headquarter referral named Axel.
He's so cool! Apparently he had met with the missionaries 4 years ago,
and even had a baptismal date but he couldn't quit smoking so they
dropped him and he lost contact with the church. But he remembers
everything, and asked us what he needed to do to be baptized! He said
he will be coming to church each Sunday because he feels that It will
give him the strength to quit smoking. He's already down from 20
cigarettes to 5 each day! And he asked for us to find someone to give
him a blessing to help him stop! He's so ready and I'm excited to
teach him! He committed to reading and praying daily, but we would
love your prayers for him too :)

Thursday:
Thursday we had interviews with president! Can I just say, President
is one of my favorite people on the earth! He told me that I get to
stay in Albi for a long time... Haha he also basically read everything
on my mind and told me lots of things I didn't know about myself! Like
he told me that I don't need to feel pressured to go to a school like
BYU that where ever I go the lord will bless me. It was WAY cool and
he answered so many prayers.

Friday:
Friday we got to teach a new ami named Mark. He is one of Cynthia's
friends. He's cool. He was receptive to the lessons and at the end I
was able to testify to him about the Book of Mormon and promise him
that If he would read the book with a sincere heart he would feel that
this was the true church and he would understand easily what he was
reading. He was actually really surprised with that promise.. Haha we
finished our lesson by having him pray. It was his first prayer and it
was the sweetest prayer I've heard in a long time. He was very sincere
and I know that if he will keep that, he will get those blessings
promised. It was probably one of the most powerful moments on my
mission. The spirit was like a flood over everyone! So cool :)

Saturday and Sunday:
We taught Juan Saturday. We were hoping to commit him to baptism but
like usual, the opposition kicked in and we were unable to. He even
told us he needs some time to think about the church.. But he asked
for a blessing! We of course told him that we would try and find
someone to do that. The only slight problem is that he speaks Spanish.
So we looked everywhere around us and no one could. So we prayed and
felt like we needed to call him. During that call Soeur Van Loon
promised him that if he would come to a world wide conference in
Toulouse with us he would get that blessing. He said he would come,
and he did even though he didn't have much money and driving that far
is expensive. After the blessing, we tried to find someone who speaks
Spanish and turns out that just one person there spoke Spanish besides
Juan! And that guy wasn't planning on coming but had a feeling he
needed to go. #miracle so he was able to go and give Juan a blessing.
It was beautiful and Juan said it was exactly what he needed. He went
away glowing and smiling.
The conference was for members and was in French.. So I didn't get
much out of it because they spoke too fast haha but what I did get is
that the gospel is the answer to all our problems! Beautiful right? :)
I would just like to add my testimony that the gospel is the source of
lasting happiness on the earth today. It is also the way to lasting
happiness after this life. Every good thing I have in this life is all
thanks the the gospel.

Je vous aime! Soyez forte et bonne courage avec tout.

Big bisous from France,
Sœur Keagan Robb

La mission Français de Lyon
Lyon Business Centre
59 rue de l'Abondance
69003 Lyon France

Weekly Scripture:
3 Nephi 22: 7
I love this scripture! We are truly never alone! Thanks to the
atonement of Jesus Christ all is possible!
Recently I've been studying Grace and I have a talk I would like to
challenge you to read. It's called Receiving Divine Assistance through
the Grace of the Lord by Gene R. Cook. It's amazing!!