Sunday, November 30, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving! 11/30/2014

Kumusta!
So this past week was Thanksgiving, and even though I didn't get to have a Thanksgiving dinner, I just wanted to share the things that I was thankful for this past week.
1. I got to go on exchanges with Sister Tapusoa and it was such a fun day, I wish I could be her comp again for an entire transfer someday ha. But we had a really good day together and it was great to be with my best friend again.
2. One of my favorite less actives (Big Mama) fed us lunch on Thanksgiving, so even though it was Filipino food, it was still masarap (delicious) and made me feel the holiday spirit. Oh and we call her Big Mama cause she's Filipina but sooooo tall and built like a Polynesian haha. She's married to the Patriach too who is was small and short, and kind of looks like the wise rat man from TMNT, so it's really funny to see them together, but I love them so much!
3. I'm thankful for this super nice member in Sevilla who helped me when I was sick while I was on exchanges there. So I had exchanges with Sister Tanner and during the afternoon, I wasn't feeling too great, so we go to this members kainan (food store? don't really know how to explain in English ha) so that I could sit down for a bit. I was feeling really dizzy, so they told me to lay down and they got me a pillow and blanket and everything ha. I felt a little weird just laying there though, so I rested for a few minutes, then sat up so that we could teach this little kid that was there. During the lesson, I just felt like I was going to be so sick, and then right as I said,"in the name of Jesus Christ, amen" a just threw up in front of everyone! Then within a second the super nice sister had water and paper towels for me, then they helped us get a tryke so that I could go home and rest haha. It was so crazy and sorry if that was kind of gross, but there's a first look into real missionary work, sometimes the unexpected happens!
4. I truly love the Lingsat ward and all the members and help that they give us. They are so willing to work with us, and that makes missionary work so much more enjoyable and effective when the ward is supportive, so go help the missionaries!
I love you all and hope that ya'll will always be thankful for the little things in life, because in the end, all that really matters is the gospel, so never take that for granted! And it's officially December, time flies too fast, remember the reason for the season this year!
Mahal Kita,
Sister Bangerter
Shout outs: Happy Birthday Babou and Sami!


Sunday, November 23, 2014

Work, Work, Work!- 11/23/2014

Kumusta!
Wow this week went by so fast and so many great things happened! We had a zone training this past Tuesday about being accountable for our areas and how to help our investigators receive revelation through prayer, church attendance, and reading the Book of Mormon. It was probably the best zone training that I've had because it was all really interactive and it was great to hear everyone's ideas about how we can help the struggling areas of our work. With all these new changes, President really wants to help us to work together more as a district and zone to achieve our goal of 100 baptisms a month. He wants to have a "White Christmas" and challenged each companionship to have one baptism in the month of December. The field truly is white and ready to harvest, and I feel like we have some pretty great potentials for this December, so we will be fasting and praying that they can make it to their dates!
But this week was really about hard work for us. I've been trying to really make sure that I make the most out of the time I have each day to work hard and prepare people for baptism. For the first time ever in my whole mission, we taught 10 lessons in one day, and at the end of the week realized that we taught 40 lessons (one of them we didn't count though because it was to the crazy Nigerians who we dropped after that...I'll have to tell ya'll the story once I get home ha). But I can honestly say that I am really exhausted but so excited to be here and working so hard. We had a really great week, and are finding more people who I feel are really prepared for the gospel! Sadly, Mary and Gina didn't come to church again and have been really busy so we couldn't really teach them last week, but this week we are going to refocus them and prepare them for their new IBD's! Then Gab is slowly coming around, and really praying to not be nervous for his baptismal day, so I feel that by the end of this week, he will be excited for his baptism rather than nervous. Also, we have a new investigator who is the grandson of our RC, he just moved back here from Italy to take care of his grandma (sister Dina our RC) and we've been teaching him and he came to church on Sunday, so we're going to give him an IBD and sana (hopefully) he will be our December baptism as well! Oh and I just remembered how on Sunday, a member brought her cousin to church who'snot a member and is studying here and she wants us to teach her and to attend institute, so people have just fell into our laps this week! So basically the work is great, I love my area so much and the members here and my companion is the sweetest, life couldn't be any better :)!
Happy birthday shout outs to Mom and Dori, sorry it's so late, but I didn't forget on the day, I just forgot to email ya'll!
Mahal Kita,
Sister Bangerter
Got to go on exchanges with Sister Smith again (fun fact, someone bowed to us on the road haha the joys of being two americans int he Philippines)

Met a nice Indian family while on exchanges with Sister Haider, they gave us some spicy Indian food

Made tacos for lunch!

Had to take the classic goat picture, there's tons of them here!

Our district/ Lingsat missionaries at President Andrada's house

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Season of Change-11/16/2014

Kumusta!
Well we had MLC this week, and there are lots of change here in Baguio mission! First off, we are officially changing our standard of excellence, and I'm really excited about it. It's putting more focus on investigator lessons, especially with members so that they have a fellowshipper, and to get us to reach our goal of 100 baptisms each month. In September, we ad 80, so we're getting closer just 20 more to go! I know that we can do it, and I'm so grateful for the council of President Balledos, he really is an inspired man and I'm so thankful that he is my mission president. We also talked about accountability and if we are willing to raise above the bar and really act upon our goals in order to reach them. I know that the time I have here is so short, and it's going by faster everyday, so I want to be as accountable as I can to the Lord and not waste any time that I have here! So it was a really great MLC and becasue President and Sister Balledos love us so much, they have decided to change our P-day. Now, our P-Day starts at 10 instead of 12 and we have an hour and a half to email, PRAISE! We were all so excited, so family, don't think that I was being pasaway (disobedient) because I was on earlier, it's a new rule!
This week really went by so fast, I can't remember everything that happened, but we are working really hard with our investigators Mary, Gina, and Gab. Please pray for them! For Mary and Gina, their desire is there, they just need to come to church! As a missionary, you get to see just a little bit of how frustrated God must feel sometimes when He knows what is good for us and what will bless us, but we just choose not to do it. Agency, it's a wonderful thing. So we are going to focus really hard with them to choose coming to church over catching that extra washing job because they will be blessed even more by coming to the House of the Lord! As for Gab, he is the smartest 9 year old I've ever met, and he is still deciding if he wants to be baptized. All I can say from this week, is that the actions of others really influence our decisions. Gab is afraid to be baptized becasue he will be the only member at his Catholic school, and we have some other investigators who are friends with less actives who hide from us, so it's hard to commit them when their member friends don't like us. So please everyone, just be good examples and take advantage of the gospel because it's what will help us the most!
I love you all, keep choosing the right and practice what you preach!
Mahal Kita,
Sister Bangerter
Our nice friend Rachel the Nigerian!

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Pagbabago!-11/10/2014

Kumusta everyone!
I don't have much time, but this past week was so crazy and I got barely any sleep!
1. The departing missionaries of November left, so I got to say goodbye to my Nanay Sister Lazan, it was sad to see her leave, but I'm glad that she got to stay at my apartment and I could say goodbye to her right before she left the mission.
2. The new missionaries came this week and we got to greet them, and it was really weird to send missionaries home and then see all these greenies haha. But I was most excited to see Sister Tapusoa again! She came back with the new missionaries, and she's in my zone so I get to go on exchanges with her, so I'm really excited for this transfer!
3. So we had transfers again, and sadly, Sister Rea got transferred far far away on Judea's plains to Candon. I miss her, but I'm excited to be with my new companion Sister Lunar! She's my batch mate, Filipina and from Quezon City. She's so sweet, and I know that we are going to have a really great transfer together!
4.We have a few investigators with baptismal dates at the moment that we're working really hard on helping them come to church. That's their only kulang (what's missing) at the moment for them. I was feeling really stressed out about finding new investigators this week because things have been crazy in our area with all the people staying with us, but we were blessed as we went to visit a recent convert, and her neighbor was at her house and she was interested in listening to us. She told us how she was in jail for over 3 years waiting for a hearing, and then a member of the church came to visit and she asked him to pray for her, so he did, and then 3 days later she got her hearing and was released! Since then, she's wanted to come to church, and when she saw the church in Lingsat, she went up to the door but was too afraid to go inside becasue she didn't know anyone, but now she's friends with the recent convert and wants to attend church and accepted a baptismal invitation! I'm excited to see how things progress with her, so please pray for Sister Mary!
That's all I can think of, sorry this is so short, but enjoy all these pictures :) and thanks Sister Behrmann and Grandma for the letters and Mom for the package, love ya'll!!
Mahal Kita,
Sister Bangerter
Sister Lazan before she left

Our LA Sister Rosalina

Our RC Sister Chita (she's blind and the sweetest woman ever, I love her!)

Acting like a new missionary

Sister Adora's family

My last day with Sister Rea

My last day with Sister Rea

Reunited with Sister Tapusoa and Sister Sawada

My new comp Sister Lunar

The best district ever! :)

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Araw ng Patay 11/2/2014

Happy Halloween ya'll!
This week was probably my last full week with Sister Rea, so another great companionship is sadly coming to an end. We worked really hard this transfer, and I'm so happy with how things have turned out. This week Sister Rea was sick, so not too much happend. I did go on exchanges again, and when I was in my old area of San Fernando, we taught a less active who had gone apostate. He refused to believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon was true. The entire lesson was really tense, and he was just yelling at us and trying to argue how the gospel in the Bible is different from the gospel in the Book of Mormon. At the beginning, I was feeling really angry that he could so easily bash all of my beliefs and everything that I know to be true in my life, but then I realized that if I tried to debate with him, neither of us would accomplish anything. So to end the lesson, I just bore my firm testimony that the Book of Mormon is a witness of Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith is the Lord's prophet, and those that earnestly seek for the truth will find it in the Book of Mormon. It has brought nothing but happiness in my life, and even though others may tear it down, I will always defend it because I know that it's true and will bless us eternally. Even though, he still refused to believe anything we said, it just reaffirmed my testimony that this is Christ's church and the Book of Mormon is His witness. So go and read the Book of Mormon if you haven't before, and if you have read it again and again, it will invite the spirit into your life and bring you closer to Chirst!
I still love my area and my mission, it truly is the best decision I've ever made. Shout out to Sydney for turning 20!
Mahal Kita,
Sister Bangerter
The beach in San Fernando





The San Fernando Sisters

My sick tan line #dontjudge