Sister Roberts Takes Riverside: I made it to PDAY!

Hi Everyone!!!

How are you?? I hope you're all well! I'm here in the MTC (Missionary Training Center). It's been amazing so far. The days are seriously starting to blend together. The days feel like weeks, but it also feels like I got here an hour ago. It's really hard to explain. Learning at the MTC is like trying to drink water from a fire hydrant. It's overwhelming and difficult, but at the same time, there's so much peace. We started teaching investigators. There's Gaby, Kaylee, Chay, Jeneechee, and Sharon. Gaby is an evangelical youth minister and just moved to Provo from the East Coast. She has a super close relationship with Christ which is amazing. She Is super interested in learning about the Church and so we taught her about the Atonement last night. We read in 1 John and connected it with some scriptures found in 2 Nephi. Tonight, we're teaching her about the Restoration and I'm super excited to see how she'll respond.

Chay is a single mother of two beautiful daughters who also recently moved to the Provo area. She is really unhappy with where she is in life and wants better opportunities for her daughters. Chay has a friend in their preschool group who introduced her to the church. The friend is really happy and Chay looks up to her with how she parents and the type of mother and woman she is. So she was referred to us and we taught her about her divinity as a daughter of God. She remarked that 'It's too late for me, but I know it's not too late for my kids. I want them to grow up with the happiness. love, and good foundation that I never had". This broke my heart so much. I testified to her that no matter the things she's done in her life, it's never too late. Heavenly Father loves her just as much as He loves me and everyone. She can become the woman, mother, and person she wants to be. I know she can. We've all made mistakes, but thanks to our Savior, we can start over each and every day. I know that as we continue to teach Chay and show her the beauty of the atonement, that she'll develop a relationship with Christ and find the happiness that she's looking for.

Jeneechee is a Japanese immigrant who moved here with his family last month. He's always impressed by his kids' friends and how well behaved and respectful they are. He wants to know what makes them that way, so he can teach his kids to be that way. Jeneechee is awesome. He is hilarious and asks REALLY good and REALLY hard questions. He's all over the place with what he wants to learn, so it's hard to keep up with him sometimes, but he's a great guy and I know that we have a lot we can teach him, and he has a lot he can teach us.

Kaylee is a foreign exchange student at BYU. She's from Korea and is a newly wed. She's studying Psychology and has an interest in the church. We read her referral letter and we get to start teaching her Monday!

Last, but certainly not least, there's Sharon. She's lived her in the area for years, but originally came from down South (not sure on the state). She has the heaviest, most adorable accent I've ever heard. Sharon has lived a hard life. She packed up her Kia with her belongings and moved her to escape her second abusive marriage. Her son died at a young age and Sharon has been subject to abuse of all kinds since childhood. Yet, she has the sweetest, kindest, most compassionate heart you've ever seen. Her father was a minister and she has a firm belief in God. However, she's angry at Him for the things she's had to go through in her life. Who wouldn't be? I can tell that she's going to be a more difficult investigator, but I know that if we stick with her, she can receive that peace of mind that she needs and that she's been searching for.

If you don't know, all of the investigators in the MTC are actors. However, all of their stories are true. All of them are their personal life stories that they use to help the missionaries learn. Some of them are members and some are real investigators. We never know which. But that doesn't matter. The Spirit still testifies and guides in how to teach. The Spirit helps us know what each person needs and how to help them in their struggles. Heavenly Father knows his children better than we ever will. What better way to teach His children than to ask Him what they need? We can't teach without Him. They can't learn without Him. It's all about the Spirit here. Learning to teach this way isn't easy. Sometimes you think you know exactly what they need, so you go with it. Sometimes, you have no clue and you sit for a few minutes and plead with Heavenly Father to help you know. And sometimes, it feels like you don't get an answer which is super frustrating. But I promise that as you continue to pray, eventually an answer comes. It's just like this with life. If you're struggling with something, if you want to know the answer to a question, if you just need comfort, whatever you need from your Heavenly Father, He will give it to you as long as you stick by Him. It might not be the answer you expected or even want, but we need to remember that our knowledge compared to His is almost non-existent. Trust Him!

We get to go to the temple today, and I can't tell you exzcited I am. I miss working there every week. My time here at the MTC has been insane and overwhelming, and I'm GREATLY looking forward to the peace that the temple brings. Getting up at 6:30 am everyday is not my favorite thing. This morning, I woke up and thought "Oh yeah... I have to get up. This is my life now". But then I remembered that I get to go to the temple and it was like taking a shot of caffiene straight to my veins. I then quickly repented for my complaining heart. ;)

I want you all to know how much I love you. But the love I feel for you in nothing compared to the love that your Father has for you. He has given us SO many things to show us that love. There's art, music, singing, nature, technology, medicine, and SO much more. These are all gifts from your Heavenly Father. I didn't realize how much He does for me, and the moment I did, it was incredibly humbling. "Why should we mourn, or think our lot is hard? Tis not so, all is well!". I testify of this brothers and sisters. All IS well! We are SO incredibly blessed to live in the day and age we do. Remember that!

I'm the new Online Coordinator for our branch. YAY technology. Not going to lie, I've missed it. I miss my phone and social media and everything. But I almost don't have TIME to miss it. We're so busy here that I don't even have time to think about it except right when I'm falling asleep. OH! And it's SNOWING here in Provo! All of my clothing is designed for Southern California. My companion Sister Reed is the same, and so is everyone in our district. We're all going to So Cal, so we were NOT prepared for the weather we're having. We're all freezing. XD Good thing there's only another week and a half of freezing before we're moved to Cali.

I love you all so much! Read your scriptures!!! Seriously! READ THEM. There is so much goodness in there that we don't utilize. DO IT.

All my love,

Sister Roberts

Oh and PS. This is my MTC address. My birthday is tomorrow.... just saying... missionaries love handwritten letters and notes! Use DearElder.com! It's delivered to me the same day! I LOVE YOU!

Sister Sydney Lynn Roberts
NOV17 CA-RIV
2005 N 900 E Unit 66
Provo UT 84602