Kumusta pamilya at mga kaibigan lahat!
I hope that you all had a wonderful week back home enjoying your heated homes and running water. Being on my mission has really made me appreciate the little things that i took for granted back home for sure. Like carpet, man I think when I get home, I'm just going to lay on the carpet and never want to move again haha. But this week I had to really appreciate the small things, and be more aware of the tender mercies the Lord has given me. Things have been a little slow in my area. We've gotten punted a lot more than we ever have before, and none of our investigators are progressing because they won't come to church. We even had a really devastating experience after we extended IBD's (baptismal dates) to a family and they accepted, but then told us that they will never be able to come to church because their family doesn't want to switch churches. It was heart breaking really, but made me take a step back and re-evaluate my reasons for being here and wanting to serve a mission. Despite every hard day with punted lessons, walking around trying to find for hours, and then coming home to our freezing cold apartment to find out that we have no water to shower with our wash our dishes, I am still so eternally grateful and happy to be here! This week was hard, but I was able to still be happy and positive despite the challenges, because I know my purpose here, and i know that this church is true. So what if we don't have running water in our apartment every other day, or we get punted 5 lessons in a row, or we have to wander around aimlessly in the night trying to find someone to share the gospel with. It's all worth it, because in the end, the message that I'm offering is eternal life and happiness with God. Knowing that helps me to push through another day, and when i go home at night, I can sleep happily knowing that I tried my best that day to be a good servant to the Lord. I just finished reading Our Search For Happiness by Elder M. Russell Ballard, and he said something that is just so true about missionary work. He said,"I often suggest to those who want to know if the church is true that they spend a few hours working with our missionaries. It doesn't take long to learn that no one can do all of the things a missionary does everyday without knowing beyond any question that what they are doing is right and true." I testify that what Elder Ballard said is true! This work is hard, but so rewarding and I've never felt so fulfilled in my life, even when it may seem to others that we aren't haveing much success, I know that the Lord recognizes my efforts and He's proud of me.
So basically what I learned this week, was to laugh and let things roll off of my shoulders that could bring me down. The worst thing for a missionary is to get discouraged, so instead, I'm choosing to laugh and look on the brighter side of things. God is good all the time, and He has promised that he will not let me fail! I love the Lord and I know this gospel is true more than I ever have my whole life!
Well, I love you all, thanks for your emails and prayers, I really appreciate it! Also, happy late birthday Haleigh and Elder Dunn! And happy birthday to Leslie Carlson and Tatie Tinie!
I hope you all have a wonderful week and remember, come what may and love it!
Mahal Kita,
Sister Bangerter
PS- We went bowling today for a zone activity and I got 4 strikes, just thought ya'll would like to know :)
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