I am going, going, going gone!

Hey all,

This week has been a weird one we have done a lot of work and a lot of service and guess what our numbers reflected it. However I am truly grateful for the opportunities this week to serve the members here this week and build their faith in the missionaries and in Jesus Christ. This week and the past 7 weeks have gone by way too fast here in Janesville and unfortunately I am leaving for Sun Prairie this Wednesday, I am excited for the opportunity to go and help them grow stronger in their faith in Jesus Christ. I can't wait to meet the members and to get them excited and motivated about missionary work. I can't believe that I have been out for 7 and 1/2 month already it only feels like yesterday I left for my mission. I  can tell that I have grown so much and I am excited for the 16 and 1/2 months left I can't wait to share what I have felt with my friends and family. Well I love you all and have a great week.

-- 

Elder Robert Pike

GOALS!!!!!

Hola mi amigos,

Well this week has been a good one.  Our mission at the beginning of this year set a goal for 300 baptisms and we are getting pretty close to achieving it as of Saturday we have had a total of 245. Which is the closest our mission has been in YEARS to achieving its goal. So being inspired of these goals our district came together and set a goal that can be achieved by November 23rd and our goal is a high, for our mission, 13 baptisms in 3 areas among 3 now 4 going to be 5 sets of missionaries. Now to tell you about my cool experience that happened on Tuesday night, so I was wondering and praying on what can I do to help the ward. So this ward is doing a 40 day fast for missionary work that ends in the end of November and leads up to a nativity festival, so I was impressed to set a goal for the ward that has to do about missionary work and that goal is crazy but extremely achievable it is 30 baptisms before then end of the year. The Janesville ward hasn't seen 30 baptisms in 1 year let alone 2.5 months but the lord has assured me that this number is what the ward can achieve and that we, members and missionaries, need to work hard! So now my challenge to you all is to set a goal and make plans for the Lord to hasten the work, to pray for the missionaries and for missionary opportunities, and act on the promptings that the Lord provides. I know this week I really haven't talked about what I did but all I can truly say I have done this week is, I have become an Tool (my version of instrument) in shaping the Milwaukee Wisconsin Mission.

 

 

Love you all,

Elder Robert Pike

The Last Two Weeks

The last two weeks have been crazy, a lot of stuff has happened and then again it feels like I am going nowhere. So I will give kinda a brief  letter about last week and then this week. So two weeks ago today we had some fun playing basketball with the other Elders here it was a ton of fun. Then Tuesday was district meeting and we were able to focus on teaching the guy who came up to us on the street the week before. Wednesday we had a few appointments with people and were able to have a great time with a less active family. Thursday we thought Catilino and shared with him some chapters out of the Book of Mormon and he was stoked about his baptism. Friday we went out to Clinton and thought the Diez family and they were really receptive to the restoration and now we just have to get him to church. Saturday and Sunday were Conference I got SO MUCH out of it for everyone's information I wrote 20 pages of notes and yes my hand still hurts.

Last week was good but really slow for some reason. Monday we had a couple appointments that fell through unfortunately. Tuesday we had ZTM in Madison we talked a lot about faith it was awesome to be thought by the elders that were there. Wednesday and Thursday we had a lot of time to go and talk with a bunch of people. We had the opportunity to teach 4 lessons both on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday thru Sunday we talked with quite a few people but they all seamed to be Catholic or Jehovah Whiteness and didn't like us very much.

 

Love you all,

 

Elder Robert Pike

WOW THIS WEEK!!!!

This has been a fun and exciting week. We had the opportunity to be called to repentance by a member of the quorum of the 70. And to have a great blessing be bestowed upon my companion and I. So I think I'll start off with Monday we went and played some basketball with the English elders here in Janesville and had the wonderful opportunity to have dinner with a family in the ward who we would later in the week help move a piano. Tuesday we met a less active member who was awesome and he knows his stuff and wants to come to church but he also wants to have his wife with him and she isn't a member but she is slightly interested in what we have to say. Wednesday we did a lot of finding both in Spanish and English with very little success so we tried to find some more productive things to do and we couldn't come up with much. Thursday we were called to repentance because Elder Perkins didn't feel the spirit at out meeting like he did in the past two meetings he had. It was awesome he truly spoke from the spirit and what was most amazing was the revelation I received on how to truly impact the areas I will serve in. We also had an awesome experience with our baptismal date Catilino we (Elder Crisanto) read out of the Book of Mormon with him and he really wants to be baptized and he truly feels the spirit when he reads. Friday we were able to talk with a bunch of people and set up appointments with them.  It was funny so the family we had dinner with on Monday called us up and asked if we could help move a piano for them, well she had it all set up but forgot to make sure the owner of the piano would be there so we moved it picking it up to Saturday. Well Saturday the day of just the most awesome experience I have had on my mission to date. We were going to see a few less actives and this guy pulled over off his motorcycle and came up to us and asked us to pray for him and we talked with him and gave him a Book of Mormon. He talked with us for a half hour and he told us he just found Jesus 9 months ago and was looking for a christian church to bring his family too. Unfortunately we were not able to set up an appointment with him but he did give us his address and said to come and talk with him and we are planning on seeing him tomorrow. Sunday was awesome we had dinner with this part member family and they are awesome the mother and one daughter is a member and the dad is very supportive and has read the Book of Mormon but didn't feel like it applies to him but he is willing to read it again and give it another shot. 

I am stoked for General Conference this week and can't wait to hear and receive revaluation from all who talk this weekend. I would like to challenge everyone to just watch one full session and I promise you will feel the spirit and it will help you out this week.

Love you all

 

Elder Robert Pike

Janesville...I'm not in Vegas anymore or maybe I am

Hola. Como estas?

So this week has been fun! We had a few surprises this week. Monday we did some normal p-day stuff then got a referral for a guy who is having some bad luck and we saw him and he seams really interested. Tuesday we saw a bunch of people and we had a lesson with one of the now Janesville English investigators that went really well. Wednesday was normal transfers day and we got a surprise at 7 in the morning that another elder was going to be with us for the day. So it kinda blew our plans out of the water. Thursday we met with our baptismal date and had a great lesson reading the Book of Mormon.  Friday we had some chaos of trying to split the English work here because we are getting sisters here next transfer.  We had a great lesson with a family that is wanting to be baptized. Saturday we kinda didn't do a lot of work but we were able to talk to a few people who are interested in the church. Sunday was odd we went to church and had a great time but afterwords we went to the English elders apartment and talked a lot about the area and how we are going to split it. We had dinner at the bishops and talked a little about ourselves.

This week is promising to be a good one we have a member of the 70's coming on Thursday so next weeks letter will be interesting.

 

Love you all.

--

Elder Robert Pike

ET.....Janesville Spanish?

Dear all,

Well this week is a crazy one so be prepared for a kinda weird letter. So Monday we played tennis with our branch mission leader again, I came so close to beating him. Tuesday was our last District meeting for the transfer, then we had an appointment with Raquel, she is awesome she knows everything is true and really wants to be baptized. Wednesday we had a lot of time to tract down some potentials and some former investigators. Thursday we did some tracting and found some people who might be interested in learning more about the gospel it was awesome. Friday we had a meeting with Hailey (member) and Jordan (Investigator boyfriend) and had an awesome lesson with them he is really close to being baptized, afterwords we got a call form a member in the branch asking to give a blessing to somebody in the hospital, which turned out to be really good. Then wonderful Saturday where we got as call at 8:30 from our mission president and he asked us to do some things for him to help out some missionaries. So he asked me to pack up all my stuff and to be ready to go to Janesville where there are some trust issues and build the faith of the members again. I think the missionary motto should be "FLEXIBLE" because I don't know if I said this but it is also a Spanish area. Sunday we had 3 investigators at church who are really progressing towards baptism which is really awesome.

So after all that I have gone through this week I am pleased to say as Nephi said  " And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of ^ahappiness" because I have been given the opportunity to serve the Lord in this new area. I am also happy for the opportunity to be able to preach this wounderfull gospel to the people of Wisconsin.

 

Love you all

Elder Robert Pike

 

Dear Friends and family, 

 

This week had been very weird and disappointing because of all the hard work we have done with very little results. But we are going to keep our efforts up and working hard. Monday as I told you last week we had a few.  We had an experience with a recently returned marine who wanted to learn more about the restoration of the church. Tuesday we played tennis with our branch mission leader. Wednesday we had a meeting with our Zone Leaders where they really stressed faith. Thursday we had the opportunity to talk with an former investigator who has been having a rough time lately. Friday we went and tried to contact some people a little ways away from Platteville. Saturday we had an awesome opportunity to go and help set up the parade here. We organized the different people in the parade so we got some cool stuff from that, then we correlated with our branch mission leader. Sunday we had the opportunity to meet with a family from the branch and help them read from the Book of Mormon. 

This weeks spiritual thought comes from a song that has been on my mind for the past week because 9/11 is this week. It is the song "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning". In this song Allen Jackson asks "where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?" and he goes on to give a few examples of what we could have been doing and throughout the song he tells us that God has given us a few gifts "Faith, Hope, and Love. And the greatest is Love." I agree exactly.  And know we need to truly love all the people around us and help them in their times of need. This is one of the biggest reasons for me to come on my mission, I wanted to be that influence in someones life that they will want to strive to help others out in hard times. 

Love You All 

 

Elder Robert Pike