We received a letter from Justin in the mail yesterday, and I have been trying to decide if I should just type it all out, or just give you highlights of it. I decided to just type the whole letter since he is just so cute! Not like I'm bias or anything ;) I didn't use spell or grammar check because I want it to be exactly how it was written in his letter!


Dear Mom, Dad and Family, Dec. 25, 2009

Hey! Maligayang Pasko! that means Merry Christmas! So far our Christmas Morning Devotional we got to hear from Elder L. Tom Perry. He was awesome and afterwards he came to eat in our cafeteria and me and my companion got to sit next to him and talk to him. Im not kidding, he was awesome! He is also very tall and is about an inch taller than me. So that was very, very cool and a great spiritual experiance. We have another fireside tonight and im not sure who's speaking... Oh to answer your questions the MTC is huge! I'm in building 13M and we do have a BYU Bookstore here so I can buy pencils, pens, and pretty much everything else. My favorite thing in the MTC is gym so I can play basketball and they have some weights and a track inside... my least favorite thing would have to be that my dorm is on the otherside of the campus from the classroom and cafeteria. Its cold... Oh I just got out of the evening fireside and Greg Olsen spoke to us. He is the guy who paints alot of the paintings of Jesus that you all have around the house and his talk was good. And to answer more of your questions the Rosetta Stone program was alright but it really only teaches things for the traveler not an actual learner if you get what I mean. But if you finish it before I get back home I suppose you'll be alright. Oh which reminds me of a Tagalog phrase for Cody, if someone asks you how you are doing answer them guwapo pa rin which means, "still handsome" in Tagalog, I'd thought Cody would like that... anyways... in my previous letter I wrote, "Kumusta po kayo", which translated in English means, "How are you?" And why only DearElder? Because I only have a limited time checking and writing emails and as you know I am a notoriously bad typist... So thats why I guess and I love getting letters in the mailbox... So how is everyone there? Everything is especially good here and thanks for all the wonderful presents and cards and letters! please give everyone my thanks! Don't worry I had my comp take pictures of me opening presents well most of them anyways... the cheap batteries that I have last about 10 seconds in the camera so it cut out while taking pics. I'll have to buy some lithium batteries from the store. My comp and my roomates are all a head shorter than me and I outweigh them all by at least 70-80 heavier than all of them. They are all hilarious tho... oh and thx for sending me my rubiks cube and i'm teaching a couple other missionaries how to solve one... but... yeah are you guys trying to make me fat? I recieved like a ton of candy I don't even know where to start... haha. so I will write you pamilya ko which means my family.
I love you all and think of you continually!
Mahal ang pamilya ko!

Mahal,
Elder Robbins

Hey you all good morning! The MTC is great and so is my companion... we do have a bookstore where we can get pretty much everything we need except hugs from you guys... I miss you all very much but dont think that im gonna leave the mission for ya! The hours are short here especially when were in class or studying. I just got my first haircut today and im also sending you all a few pictures but we cant do it through email so i have to send it through regular mail! Thanks for all the presents but i already said that in the letter i sent on christmas i wonder if its gotten to you guys yet... oh well. The district got to go to the referal center the other day which means we try to talk to people that respond to the mormon.org ads that the church put out. but mostly we call people that have ordered a movie through us and ask them how it was and if they wanted to know more... but i just had people yell at me and hang up so pretty much no success. Thanks alot for the scripture marking kit I have used that alot. Well id like to know what building Cole teaches in. I live in Building 13M and go to class at building 18M which is clear on the other side of the campus. Thanks for all of the letters and cards from everyone! I wrote you all about my Pasko on Pasko. The food is good, maybe a little bit too good for me but im losing wieght i hope in gym. Its hard to think that ive been here almost two weeks but time does fly when you serve the lord.
Everything is going well, Mahal sa MTC, Thanks again for all of the letters, cards and presents from everyone.

Mahal,
Elder Robbins

First email from the MTC

Kamusta po kayo? its going great here, my comps name is Elder Hanks and my roomates names are Elder Carr and Elder Hanks, yes mom that elder hanks the mom your emailings son. well its actually his dad. but... so hows everything going? are you guys already for christmas? it doesnt even feel like its christmas here well except for the fact that Christmas night we have the First Presidency come speak to us!!! how cool is that? ive been praying to be able to shake president uctdorf's hand. but any ways all is good here and thanks so much for the mail and tell David that i just got his package but havnt opened it yet... tell him thanks for me tho! Oh so the branch presidency came to talk to the district friday and asked me to be the DL or District Leader! Im so excited! well the food here is good for the most part and I love my district. Elder Hanks is basically the opposite size wise of me but our personalities are similar anbd he is great!! So ive been taking all of the pictures that I can so far but i have alot of room left on my card... oh i just got Joe and Tracy's Chrismas Card in the mail today tell them thanks and tell Quinton good luck in Basketball this year! well my roomates are great and we are pretty much always laughing. My tagalog is progressing extremly well and i just mailed off a letter with my testimony in tagalog... hopefully youll get it soon. Ive already learned how to say my prayer in the language and am learning standard phrases... that reminds me please tell everyone to not email me at this address and to continue how you all are currently doing it cause it is much simpler and i can only check my email once a week on my pday which is monday whereas i can get regular mail every day except sunday... thanks for all of your love and support as i serve and i am loving everything here especially gym cause i am good a basketball... well my time is short. know that i love you all and thank you for everything!
Love,
Elder Robbins

What's in a name....

When Justin was little his Uncle Joe wanted to give him a nickname. After many trial and errors (which was me shooting down pretty much every nickname he came up with) he stumbled upon Justin-tino. The nickname stuck with him all growing up and he didn't seem to mind the name. When Justin received his mission call to the Philippines, his Uncle Turner laughed and said, "now we will have to call him filipino-tino!" hence the title of this blog, thanks guys!