Merry Christmas a day late!!!

            Merry Christmas one day late!  Haha.  I hope you all had a great Christmas.  Well I had a great Christmas.  Church was great.  I was in the ward choir for the first time ever which was fun.  We got Steve our investigator that is going to be baptized on Saturday to come to church and he loved it.  After that I got to talk to my awesome family. I love all of you and it was nice to hear all of their voices.  We went with a family that is in the ward and got to spend the rest of the day with them.  Christmas was a lot better than I thought it was going to be for sure.  Hey thank you everyone that sent me a package or a card.  I was so grateful and made me feel so loved.  

            So the rest of the week was great too.  Tuesday and Wednesday we had leadership training with the mission president and the AP's.  I learned so much and it was very motivational.  Half of the day on Wednesday we had a Christmas party, where we played different games and watched Joy to the World.  The second half of the day I went on splits with one of the zone leaders and got to stay at Central Michigan University.  It was kind of weird because school was out so it was very empty.  That was about it for the week.

Love you and miss you all!

Love Elder Fletcher!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas!

Family and Friends,

Hey how's it going?  Another week has gone by and it is Monday again! Oh how I love Mondays now.  Merry Christmas everyone, well almost merry Christmas.  So this week was great and there was a lot that went on.  Steve is getting baptized on the 31st and went to church yesterday and the ward Christmas party. The ward Christmas party was awesome!  I think that was the best ward Christmas party I have ever been to.  The kids all dressed up and put on a little Nativity program for everyone and it was done very well.  I think this is the first time that I really have understood the true meaning of Christmas.  It has been nice not worrying about shopping.  After sharing the story of Christ's birth to so many people and serving so many different people.  

It was kind of funny we were door knocking an apartment complex and we were going to give the Joy to the World DVD to the apartment complex.  The lady at the door looked at us and starting yelling.  She said that we couldn’t be there and wanted to have us escorted to our car making sure that we left haha.  On Friday we almost got kicked out of another one because some guy saw us and was headed for the management office.  Before the management could come to talk to us we left.  Well that is all the exciting news this week

Love you all and have a Merry Christmas!

Love Elder Fletcher 

P.S. Mom I will be calling you when you get out of church, can't wait to talk to you!!!!!

White Christmas with Baptisms

Family and Friends,

Hi how is everyone doing?  So we had transfer calls were on Friday and it was kind of shocking, both of us are staying.  We will be together for 4 and 1/2 months.  The only thing that did change was that my comp was made a district leader and now we will have a car full time.  I was excited about that, so I don't have to walk in the snow for at least 6 weeks!  

We got a crazy call this week.  Our bishop called and told us that he got a call saying that a guy in our area wanted to be baptized.  At first we thought it was a prank because we have been getting prank calls about that.  We called him and he said that one of his best friends wasn’t a member and he talked to the missionaries from the Detroit mission and he wanted to be baptized.  We went and met with him Thursday and Friday and taught him about the restoration.  He said that was the best news he has ever heard.  He has a baptism date for the 31st of December so we could have two baptisms that day. That is about all of my exciting news this week. 

Love you all.

 LOVE, ELDER FLETCHER

Happy Holidays

Hey what's up?  

So this week was great and crazy.  Tuesday and Wednesday we got about 6 in of snow and all the schools here had a snow day.  I thought that was cool.  Wednesday morning we had to walk to a member’s house to get a ride to district meeting because his phone was down.  I don't think I have walked that far in the snow before, but it was kind of fun.

My comp was funny because he is from Mississippi and he hadn't seen snow like that before.   All of the snow is melted now but expecting more soon.  Time has gone by so fast I cant' believe that I have been gone 3 months and Christmas is just around the corner.  Transfers are going to be next Tuesday so I might get transferred somewhere else but I hope not.  If so I will just have to go with it.  We had to push our investigators baptism to the 31st and he is way excited.  We finally got him a ride to church yesterday and he was excited to be there.  Yesterday we got to go to the church and watch the Christmas devotional and I really enjoyed.  I will let you know next week if I am staying or going somewhere else in Michigan. Love you all!

 Love, Elder Fletcher      

Two Thanksgiving Dinners :)

Hi Family and Friends!

How's it going?  I hope all of you had a great thanksgiving!  I had a good thanksgiving. We had 2 thanksgiving dinners and it was great! haha! J  We played a lot of different games and I got to know our ward mission leader’s family and the young men president’s family.  It wasn't like being home but it was the next best thing.  

I had triad offs or exchanges on Tuesday.  I got to stay in Bay City and lead the area. While we were door knocking, we ran into a member that moved from somewhere and didn't know where the church was so we gave her the address. We are going to go see her again tomorrow.  

We got a new bishop last Sunday and he is already changing things around for the best.  He gave a talk yesterday on the Atonement and it was amazing.  Love you all!

Love, Elder Fletcher

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!! 

Wow I can't believe that it is almost thanksgiving.  Time is starting to fly by now.  We are going to the ward mission leaders for dinner.  The ward is great here, we got a new bishop yesterday and it was kind of funny because he just moved in about a month ago.  So they read in their names and called him to be bishop the same day.  He is going to be great.  We were talking yesterday and he said he went to BYU-Idaho so we talked for a little bit about that. 

On Saturday we had zone conference and a member of the 70 was there and it was amazing!!  It was very motivating!!  Oh sorry guys my last e-mail wasn't very clear but we didn't stay over night at the camp out but we just went and spent a little time and gave a fireside to the young men.  I love you all!

Love, Elder Fletcher

First time sick as a missionary :(

Family and Friends,

Well another week has gone by.  So this week not much happened I was sick until Wednesday and then my comp got sick.  So we were sleeping a lot.  Brother Brissette is out of the Hospital again and doing well thank goodness. 

On Friday we got to go with the young men to their camp out.  It was a lot of fun.  It brought back memories from the good old days.  We taught the fireside and it was amazing.  We talked about missionary work and going on a mission.  Almost all of them want to go on a mission.  The young men in the ward are awesome. 

One of are investigators wants to get baptized but there are a lot of different things we need to get worked out before he can.  The other two are going through a hard time so they want to wait on baptism so we are trying to help them through that. 

My comp was sick yesterday so we weren't able to go to church so we were in are apt all day, it almost drove me crazy.  It was weird not to go to church but it’s good because we didn't get anyone else sick.  Well that is about it for this week

Love you all!

Love, Elder Fletcher

Baptismal Date and Hospital Visits

Family and Friends,

Hey sorry it is so late!!  We just got back from taking Brother Brissette to the Hospital.  I feel so bad for him.  This is the third time since I have been here.  He is the nicest old man.  He is like my grandpa out here.  

So this week was kind of slow but that is okay.  This week we have one investigator with a baptism date, it is December 3 and that is exciting.  Our other two investigators were engaged but they broke up and are having a hard time right now, but maybe it is for the best.  

The ward here is great!!!  The members here feed us almost every night and it is great to visit them and get to know them better.  So I made it through my first transfer and time is going by fast now.  I am really starting to enjoy being a missionary now and get used to everything now.  

The weather is still warm here thank goodness.  I am not looking forward to the snow.  We have a few cold days but it is not bad yet.  We have been going over to the hospital almost every day now because we have 3 people from the ward in the hospital after today.  I don't really like the hospital here.  I don't think they do very much.  They keep telling Brother Brissette that they don't know what is wrong with him.

  

Yesterday was stake conference and it was really good, we didn't have too many members from our ward but there were a lot of people there.  My mission president spoke at it and it was awesome!!  My mission president is awesome, he is really smart.  He was a professor at the U of U.  I don't remember what he taught.  That is about it for the week Love you all.

Love Elder Robson Fletcher

Happy Halloween :)

Hi family and friends and Happy Halloween!!!!  

Well another week has gone by and it was a good week.  On Wednesday I went on triad offs with one of the zone leaders.  We went personal contacting on a college campus. College kids are way more willing to stop and talk then most adults, I think I talked to more people on campus than I have in Bay City.  It was Central Michigan University.  It was way big.  It is a lot bigger than the University in Utah that is for sure.  Central is one of the smaller universities here.  

Well it is getting colder almost every day and not looking forward to the snow that is for sure.  My comp is from Mississippi and he doesn't know how to dress for the cold.  We have been on bikes this week and I love riding bikes, I got a bike from one of the members here.  It is an old Schwinn road bike that is awesome!!   I didn't run into any crazy people this week so no fun stories sorry.  

Well we had 3 investigators come to church with us yesterday.  It was kind of stressful. After church we had a way big pot luck and there was a lot of people there which was good, food always bring people to church.  After the pot luck we had a mini mission fireside to get the ward to be more missionary minded.  That was is about it Love you all 

       

 Love Elder Robson Fletcher

Investigators and Halloween

Dear Family and Friends,

Well another week has past and it is almost Halloween!! So this week was kind of slow because my comp had to get an ingrown toe nail removed so we were at the apartment a lot.  Wow missionary apt are so boring!  They make it so the only you can do is work.  We had a really good lesson with one of are investigators and we almost got her to come to church with us but her aunt died and the funeral was at the same time maybe next week.  

We went and did service at a non- members house and wow!!  It was a house that was built in 1970 and has been abandoned for about 25 years.  The floor has rotted out so we helped pull out some of the floor and removed a cast iron bath tub.  Dang that was heavy.  We are going over again tomorrow.  We are making progress with him.  Before he really didn't want anything to do with us but after spending the whole day with him, he wanted us to come back.  He even came to the ward Halloween party on Saturday.  

The ward had a great Halloween party.  It was very very well decorated.  It was at one of the member’s house.  They had a hay ride that looked like just a trailer but the member took the frame of a van.  It was way cool.  I have never seen anything like that before. At the party we had close to 150 there.  

We went to the big rival high school football game on Friday where we had 5 of the youth from both teams.  None of them were playing football but they were in the band and cheering.  That is about it.  Love you all.

 -Elder Robson Fletcher

Love for the Book of Mormon

What up Family and Friends!!  

How is it going?  I hope everything is going okay because I am doing great!!!  Another week down on Wednesday and I will have been out in the field for a month!!!  So we had a fun and exciting week.  The gentleman that was in the hospital came home on Wednesday and is doing great.  I went on my first exchange with the district leader and that was fun.  I went down to Saginaw.  It is a lot more ghetto there than it is in Bay City.  I'm not being racist but I have never seen so many black people in my life, just saying.  

I ran into another crazy guy this week.  Wow! I think he is on the top of my list of crazy people that I have met!!  He has a Masters in psychology and religion so he thought he knew everything.  He was tearing our church apart and it was funny because he didn't know anything about our church.  He also told us that we were wasting our time.  So after that we were kind of upset.  We open our scriptures to a random spot and read the first thing we saw and it was talking about some of the missionaries in the BOM and how after being rejected and spited upon and all other thing that the lord comforted them and they kept going.  I have truly learned to love the BOM now!!.  

Friday our lessons fell through that night and we can't door knock after dark so we went to the football game.  It was their home coming game.  That was fun.  It would have been nice to see a team that wins, but they are not very good here.  I am just saying they can't pass or catch the ball.  It is all running.  But anyways that was fun to go to a football game.  At church yesterday we only had a total of 55 people there.  One of the families was gone and their family is like a 4th of the ward.  That is about it, thanks for all the emails.

 Love you all

-Elder Robson Fletcher

Scary and Funny Moments

Family and Friends,

Well another week went by.  The weeks are going faster now so it doesn't feel so long, thank goodness.  Well not to much happened this week.  One of the older men in the ward that we go and check on and talk to is Brother Brissette.  He is the nicest and coolest person.  He has taken us in and treats us like we are his grandkids.  We went to go visit him Wednesday morning and we found him in a diabetic coma.  It scared me and my comp.  We had to call 911 and get him some help.  His blood sugar was 25!!  It was crazy!!  He is in the hospital still and is hoping to come home tomorrow.  That was kind of hard on me but I'm great now.  We have been teaching a lot of different less active members in the ward and trying to help them get back to church.  We have been helping two of the young men to quit smoking and getting them back to church.  I am so glad I never got into that, especially seeing how hard it is to quit.  We started this quit smoking program with them on Saturday and it promises you to be smoke free in a week.  It doesn't seem too hard to me but I'm not a smoker haha.  

       

I had my first lesson this week that I taught. It went pretty well.  It was on prayer.  The lesson was ones that I had my first lesson in the mission with, so they have come along ways.  On Saturday we were at a flee market here trying to talk to some people.  We went to a restaurants right next to it and I got asked out on a date, it was super awkward but funny.  We told that to Brother Brissette and he teases me all the time now.  I went to my first fast and testimony meeting yesterday and it was kind of different.  I'm not in Utah that is for sure haha.  Well that is about it.  Love you all 

Love Elder Robson Fletcher

General Conference and the Crazy Lady!

Hi Family and Friends,

Well another week is done.  I hit my one month mark yesterday. Crazy!  I only have 23 more to go.  This week had its good and bad, just like any other week.  We got a lot of work done on Monday and Tuesday, and then it all went down from there.  We had all of our lessons cancel on us Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, so we did a lot of different things.   I knocked my first couple of doors. Wow that was scary.  It was at a scary trailer park and nobody wanted anything to do with us.  But that's OK that is their loss. Well my area is pretty ghetto no joke.   On Tuesday we got a call from one of the members saying one of their friends just got hit in the head with a 2 by 4 with a nail in it.  The friend had just gotten.  She was not a member and said she has never felt the spirit like that before and wanted us to come over and meet her again.  So I got to give another blessing this week.  I am getting better at that and more comfortable with it.  Michigan got hit with the recession hard and a lot of people don't have jobs.  There are a lot of different people coming back to church so the church will help them.  It is sad that the only reason they will come back is because of money.  Oh well what you can do.  

           

We watched general conference at the church on Saturday and Sunday.  WOW is general conference always that good? Because I got so much out of it this time.  After Elder Holland’s talk, I am so glad I am on my mission because if I wasn't I would feel like a looser.  I missed being home for conference but I got to know the members in the branch a lot better.  The members here are great and so nice.  

Oh I almost forgot we went to the high school football game to support some of the young men.  One of the young men brought us to the front row, that way weird.  I will put it this way, Utah is very very different.  My favorite thing was that they had a cheer that was BS.  That would never happen in Utah that is for sure.  It made me feel like I was in the world again and I got to talk to a lot of different people.  Not very many people here have ever heard of Mormons so that is different.  

         My Favorite part of this week was yesterday!!  We went door knocking after conference and it was my turn so I knocked and a crazy lady came out.  Wow she told us that if we were to come in she would convert us and that she spoke it the gift of tongues.  Then she got crazier by bashing on Joseph Smith that he was a false prophet.  Then she singled me out and said something that I looked interested and that I should pray last night and asked something but I don't remember but it was something about Joseph Smith.  She was a very creepy lady and the spirit that she said was in her was not the Holy Ghost that was for sure.   Well that is about it.

 Love you all and miss you.  

LOVE,

 ELDER ROBSON FLETCHER

Michigan at last!

Hi family and friends,

How’s it going?  Things are good here!!  Well my first area that I'm serving in is called Bay City.  It is more north.  It is pretty here but very poor.  I never realized it before now how well off we really are.  There are very few members here but the ward is great.  They made me feel like I'm at home.  Well my first day out I met my comp and he is great. He has only been out 6 months but knows what he is doing.  He is from Mississippi.  So after I got to my area we went to go teach a lesson to some investigators and that was crazy.  We mentioned the word Satan and the guy flipped and stared to defend the devil. 
        

There is an older man in the ward that is great.  We go over to his house every other day to check up on him because he has cancer. He has so much cool stuff.  He has over 400 guns.  He has a sword that the case is made from human skin that is from Christ’s birth crazy!!! I got a picture with it but it won’t let me send it.  So I will try later. 

On Friday and Saturday we went to a festival that was it the town called the River of Time.  It had war re-enactments from a lot of different wars.  The ward here did the Mexican American War and we were the Mormon Battalion.  So all weekend I was dressed up as a Mexican, so that was funny.  We got a lot of appointments doing that.  We are going to go talk with them this week. 

On Saturday we were driving back to the River of Time and the car in front of us pulled out in front of another car and hit them.  We were the first ones on the scene.  Crazy.  No one was badly hurt but an old lady was holding her chest. The lady that hit them was drunk.  I'm not in Utah that's for sure!!  I can't believe what it would be like to go to a different country because I was in shell shock at first. 

The ward is great. There is a man named Brother Schindler that is awesome.  He has taken care of me.  The members feed us well.  We got 2 dinners last night.  The people here are very poor it is sad to see. 

Love you all!

Elder Robson Fletcher

Elder Robson Fletcher

4720 Orchard Manor Blvd.apt.8

Bay City, MI 48706

MTC Batch

Surfing on the MTC ironing board :)

Last Letter from the MTC. Now it is time to be a REAL Missionary

Hi Family and friends how's it going? 

It has been great here!!!!  Well I can't believe that I am leaving tomorrow it is so crazy!  The last week has gone by so fast I can't believe it!!  Well I am done with the MTC experience and I am ready to go out into the field and talk to everyone.  I've grown to be a talker here.  I have grown so much here it is crazy.  I'm not the same person I was 3 weeks ago.  I am sad to hear about things that are going on at home and wish I could be there. I pray for you every night and morning so I know things will workout like things always do!!  Oh my gosh I can't believe what the changes that have happened at home since I've been gone.  I love the news I hear from everyone it is so great, I just love it!!!! 

So I my comp and some of the other people in my district left this morning it was sad to see them go.  It was crazy. It was like leaving my family again.  I love them so much!!  We didn't have anyone leave because they couldn't handle it.  We had a tough group of people with very strong testimonies.  So I'm leaving tomorrow at 4.  I am going have to wake up at 3.  So I am not looking forward to that, because I have a hard time at waking up at 6:30 but I will do it!!!!   I am going to be a real missionary now.  Being at the MTC doesn't make me feel like a real missionary. I have the tag and everyone calls me elder but, I just feel like I'm at school.  I am so glad to be done with classes because 6 hrs of class and 2 hrs of studying is kicking my butt.  That has been the hardest thing.  Some days I feel like I'm a little kid with no attention Span, but it has been great! Well I'm out of time I will talk to you later and tell you how the real mission field!! 

LOVE YOU ALL!

 ELDER FLETCHER    

On the Journey

What up family!

How’s it going? Thank you so much for everything. This week was awesome!!!!! I got so many letters.  It’s the best thing in the world haha!!!  It’s only been 2 weeks but if feels like I’ve been here for 2 months haha. But it's all good haha!!  Well I didn't even make it 2 weeks without getting sick. I got sick on Saturday because my comp got sick on Friday. I had to take care of him and he got me sick. So we all share the love here!!! All but one person hasn't gotten sick yet in my district but it will be any day now till they get sick. Haha I just love it haha!  I gave my first blessing on Friday to my comp.  It was a faith and spiritual experience that I don't know how to explain!!  I got a blessing on Sunday and I'm better now. I'm not going to lie, going to class and being sick sucks.  I am really enjoying it here it is way fun here.  I'm finally getting along with my comp.  He still is a fun sucker but I'm trying to losing him up haha.  

Oh yeah I got my flight plans.  I leave Wednesday the 21st at 7:30 am so I'm supper excited to get out of to see the real world.  Haha.  I get to talk to real people and not just role plays.  Sometimes it is hard to feel the spirit when teaching because we know that it is our teachers!!  But that's all good.  It has helped me improve and apply what I've learned when we practice and teach about 3 to 4 times a day!!  My comp and I were teaching a real investigator in the teaching center this week and I had the most spiritual experience ever.  I've never felt the spirit so strong. It was awesome.  He knows that the gospel to be true but he's afraid to commit to a date because bad things happened to him last time, so he backed out.  I shared with him how I got scammed and that Satan tried to stop me from going on a mission.  But the lord provided for me in so many different ways.  I told him that when he does decide to get baptized again that even when Satan tries to stop him again. The Lord will bless him and the Lord will provide for him.  We were all crying, it way some crazy stuff and I LOVED it haha.  That’s about it haha.  THANKS EVERYONE FOR HELPING ME BE OUT HERE. I COULDN'T DO IT WITH OUT ALL OF YOU!!  I AM TRYING TO WORK HARD AS I CAN SO IT WILL BE WORTH ALL THE MONEY YOU GUYS ARE PUTTING IN FOR THIS. Love you all!

 Write you soon.

LOVE ELDER FLETCHER  

What up Family!

What up family I am doing well!!  The MTC is a lot different then I thought it was going to be!  Hey mom can you forward my emails to gena and linnea, jim and melinda and barbra and grandma and grandpa? Thank you, I don't have their email addresses.  So I am the only one in my district not to get a letter which I kind of feel bad about but its all good I understand that everyone is too busy.  So my district is AWESOME all but my comp!  He drives me crazy but I am trying to overcome it!  He is going to Indiania so that's weird so there are 7 of us going to michigan and 5 going to Indiana.  I'm not going to lie the first 2 days sucked so bad I thought about coming home but just to let you know I didn't and  it is a lot better now.  I love it after we started gym and got some teachers it is a lot better now!  OH my gosh i can't believe how hard it is to get up at 6:30- I am such a baby haha!  My district is so funny I have never luaghed so hard and so much if I didn't have the comp I do now I could stay for 2 months and not care.  My comp is 22 and graduated from University of Washington with a BS of Physics wow he is such a nerd haha.  I didn't think it would be this hard to be with someone all the time but it is getting better I had a long talk with him yesterday so it should improve soon.  Um I kind of forgot my fingernail clippers, tweezers, my suit hanger, and my bball shoes.  So if you could send that soon that would be great.  Yesterday I was playing bball and I have two big blisters on the end of my two big toes which sucks but oh well I love bball.  I think that is it. Oh can you send ME my emails through DEAR ELDER.com because they print them off and put them in the mail box and its free so I have more time to write because we only have 30 min in the MTC but thats only in the MTC.  Oh and they print them off and send them that day.  So yeah I am doing great its awesome here but am excited to get out.  


Love you all, Elder Fletcher

The Last Supper

Last night at 9 pm Elder Fletcher was set apart in the High Council Room by President Virgin, his dad and all of his brothers.  All of his family was there; and the babies kept things interesting it being well past their bedtimes.  Mom said the opening prayer, and dad and President Virgin bore their testimonies.  Robbie's blessing was indicative that he will be a wonderful missionary and a powerful force for good.  We all feasted on the spirit.  


After being up until 1:30 in the morning packing and talking to family, he spent most of the night answering text messages from friends and well wishers. 


For the last supper we all met up at Tucanos in the Riverwoods in Provo.  We had a literal feast of salads and of course every kind of meat imaginable.  They made Elder Fletcher hold a tambourine and do a dance while the workers sang a song in Portuguese.  His nephew Aiden started crying from the noise and he said 'Aiden, did that scare you?  It scared me too!'  We all laughed.  They brought him a bon voyage ice cream, we all said our good bye's, and he was whisked away to the MTC.  We are all excited for all of the new, exciting, and special experiences that soon await Elder Fletcher. 


Things Robbie will miss:
His Phone
Dr. Pepper
His friends and family (especially his neice and nephew)
New shoes
Skiing


Things Robbie is most excited about serving a mission:
Not going to school
Learn the scriptures more
New Adventures
Meet new people
Serve the Lord
Get up really, really EARLY (Robbie loves to get up early :-)).