Happy Father's Day! 06/15/2014

Kumusta sa inyong lahat!
First of all, I want to wish Dad, and all of you other great father figures in my life a very happy father's day! I've learned so much on my mission to be thankful for my family, especially my parents and all that they have done for me throughout my life. So thank you so much Dad for always teaching me to choose the right and to live this gospel, I love you!
Well, this was a great week here in Agoo, I feel like I'm starting to see the work hastening here in our little branch! Right now, we have one IBD who's the son of our recent converts, the Gaerlan Family. His name is Erick, and he really wants to change his life around and be baptized. I love people like this. But with every golden investigator, there's always some little problems that come up right when it's getting close to the baptism. One of these was with the Law of Chastity. He doesn't have any serious problems, but here in the Philippines, there are a lot of calenders that have some not so great pictures of women on them, and it's normal for people to have these in their house, but if we really want to live the LOC, we should take them down. So we had taught him this lesson, and for about a week, the posters were still there. So we had a really bold and loving lesson with him about it, and it turned out to be the most beautiful lesson of my entire mission. The spirit was there so strongly, and tears were shed by all of us as we truly felt God's love and His desire for us to follow His commandments. I know it might sound weird to say that, since it was about LoC and normally this can be a very awkward lesson, but it just really showed to me how the spirit can touch our hearts and compel us to change in just a few seconds. As soon as we left, we could hear the posters being torn down. The gospel changes lives people! Erick is progressing really well, just needs a miracle to be able to get off of work for church, pray for him!
This week we also got to watch this special Northern Philippines Broadcast for our stake conference. The Saturday session was focused on missionary work and how the members and missionaries need to work together. We have already seen the results of this as we've received referrals from members, and this week, we're going to focus on teaching them how to share with their friends. Hope the members are ready to do some role plays ha! Then the Sunday session was a broadcast from SLC with Elder Teh, Bishop Davies, Sister McKonkie, and Elder Quentin L. Cook. All of the messages were focused on the blessings of temple sealings and temple work in general. I am so grateful for the blessings of my temple covenants and to live so close to one back home. For those of you who live close to the temple, take advantage of this opportunity to go as often as you can! The people here have to travel at least 6 hours to get to the temple, and most people don't have the money to make the trip. We need these temple and their ordinances, and people are waiting for us to do their work, so go and do it!
Our work here in Agoo is going really well, I've seen the fruits of our faith as we try to find new people to teach. So far, it's all been really old women who can't see to read and need a wheelchair to go to church...but I know that the Lord provides a way for his purposes to be fulfilled. With faith nothing is impossible, I testify of that.
Sorry this email is pretty scattered, but there was just a lot of good things that happened this week. It was also my half way mark last wednesday, crazy to think that I've been here for 9 months, and I'm excited to see what the next 9 months have to bring. I know that I have changed a lot just thinking about where I was back in my training or even the MTC to the point I am now. I still have so much more to learn and I'm excited to see what else the Lord has in store for me. In celebration of hitting my halfway mark, we ate balot again! Ok, worst decision, and it'll be the last time. As you can see from the pictures, I literally ate a baby duck, it probably would have been alive and kicking the next day if I didn't eat it. I took a video too that I think our Branch Presidents son put on facebook, so hopefully ya'll could see it, it took a lot for me to do that ok, and the fact that I flossed some baby duck hairs from my teeth after was a bit scarring! Well I guess now I can say I did it, and I really never want to do it again haha.
Well, I love you all and I'm so grateful for this gospel in my life and hope that you are all taking full advantage of its blessings! Another thing that I learned this week is that obedience is the key, be obedient people, that's the only way we obtain the blessings!
Mahal Kita,
Sister Bangerter

BALOT

BALOT

BALOT

BALOT

Welcome Tagulan! 06/09/14

Kumusta everyone!
So I'm a little late this P-Day cause we just had a super legit zone activity where we went to some waterfalls! It was some intense hiking and rock climbing, but no one got hurt luckily, and it was so beautiful! I've been waiting my whole mission to do a super fun activity like this, and it definitely didn't disappoint.
Anyways, this was a really great week of missionary work as always and we had a couple of exciting things spice up the week a bit. First of all, I went on exchanges with my sister in the mission (my trainer trained her and then me) Sister Spjut! It was probably one of the most fun days that I've had so far, and nice having no language barrier ha. And then Sister Sidwell turned 20 this week, and we had an FHE with our Branch President's family on her birthday. They had a little surprise for her of pictures of her since she was a baby until now and a little brithday video at the end from her family, it was really nice and made me excited for my birthday on the mission, I already feel so old now!
Well after writing that, I guess it doesn't seem that exciting, but I promise it was! Then of course we had a lot of good teaching opportunities this week, and we're working really hard on trying to meet the Standard of Excellence of our mission each week, so we're working on being really diligent and using our time to the fullest. I've learned especially, that's it's really important to constantly be finding new investigators who are really prepared and ready to accept this gospel. This was made apparently clear, when we went to teach one of our investigators for the 2nd or 3rd time. When we got there, they tried to hide, and then the Mom left without talking to us. So we taught the daughters, but they were just laughing the entire lesson and not taking it seriously. I really understood what Elder Holland meant in his talk about being a disciple of Christ and sometimes we may have to face ridicule for our beliefs. A part of me just wanted to storm off and leave as soon as I could because it was apparent they didn't care. But as mad as I felt in that moment, I just thought to myself how much more Christ grieves for them. All people have their agency to accept it, but it's not my right to pick and choose who deserves the gospel, because it's for everyone.
So despite some mean investigators, this week was still great, I know the Lord is guiding our work and leading us to those who are prepared to accept it. I've really learned too, that the Spirit is the teacher and the guide, I'd be nothing without Him. This was again made apparent to me when I had to give an on the spot talk this sunday at church! One of the speakers didn't show up, so they asked one of the missionaries to give it while we were in Relief Society. My companion was going to, but then during our Gospel Essentials class, she tells me she can't because she's sick and her throat is scratchy ha. So I spent like 10 minutes writing down some bullet points to give a talk in Tagalog about missionary work. I was doing some serious praying for sure within that class hour and during the sacrament. I was the first one to speak, and I ended up talking for about 10-15 minutes! The spirit was on my side Sunday for sure :)
Well I love you all, and I hope you know that I'm really enjoying my mission. Sometimes it's hard for me to really describe in these emails all that I do each day and throughout the week, but it all leads to the same thing. I'm on the Lord's errand and loving His gospel and learning how to really live it each and every day. I know this church is true and puts us on the path to eternal salvation with our families. That's what's most important to me. I love you family ( you should write me more ;)!)
Shout out to Mom for always sending me packages, you're the best and I love you soooo much!
Mahal Kita,
Sister Bangerter

Sister Sidwell's Birthday!

Buko juice (aka coconut)

Hanging Bridge

Hiking to the falls

Hiking to the falls

Hiking to the falls

Summer Never Ends 6/1/2014

Kumusta sa inyong lahat!
Well I made it through the first week of my training, and I feel like these next 12 weeks will really go by fast! Sister Panganiban is a natural, I really feel more like we're in a co-senior, not a trainer/ trainee companionship. I'm excited to see how much we can both learn and grow together during our time together.
This was a pretty normal week as far as the work went. We managed to find a lot of new investigators this week, and we're really close to meeting the standard of excellence for the mission. Now that I'm a trainer, I'm trying a lot harder to lead by example, meaning really trying to be as exactly obedient as I can, and I've definitely seen the blessings of it, even out of the little things. Obedience brings blessings, but exact obedience brings miracles, I'm gaining a testimony of this for sure.
But one of my favorite parts of this week was getting to go to a training meeting with President Balledos. I think this is one of the things I will cherish the most from my mission, getting to be trained, taught, and nourished every single day in the gospel and how to apply to my own life as well as the lives of others. This really is the only chance in my life when I'll be able to study my scriptures for so long without any interruptions and just really focus on the blessings of the gospel in my life. My personal study has always really been my favorite part of the day, and it just keeps getting better and better the longer I'm here! I know that I truly am changing and maturing, and hopefully by the end of my mission, I will be the person God has always known that I could be.
Sorry I don't have that much to say this week, the work is still moving along, and hopefully we should have a baptism at the end of this month, I'll keep ya'll updated! But I love my mission and my area here in Agoo, I've seen people's lives change because of the truthfulness of this gospel, including my own. I encourage you all to go out and share these blessings with others, we're all trying to work on our own salvation, but one part of that is helping others achieve theirs as well!
Shout outs to Brent for the letters, and Happy Birthday Emily (Graff) and Liz!
Remember that I love you all, and pray for me cause the frogs are coming out now...mamamatay na ako!
Mahal Kita,
Sister Bangerter

Working with the members! They're the best here!

I love my area

This giant lizard that people were selling to eat, takes like chicken daw

CSP with the RS

Meet my Anak! 5/25/14

Kumusta sa inyong lahat!
Wow this has been the craziest week yet! It all started normal in the beginning, just your average missionary work, did a nice little CSP painting at an elementary school, and getting ready for transfer day when on Wednesday, I get a call from President asking me to train a brand new missionary!! I was feeling a lot of emotions in that moment, at first super excited, and then really scared, and then stressed all at once. I feel like I'm still too young on the mission to be training, there's so much that I still need to learn and improve on, but I know that I will grow a lot during this experience. So I'm excited (but still nervous) for this new step in my mission, and my trainee or anak in Tagalog is the best! Her name is Sister Panganiban, yeah we struggle to say each other's names, and she's a Filipina from Quezon City Province! She's older than me, but i'm taller than her haha and she's the sweetest and most humble person, she's already teaching me so much and I know that these next two transfers will be a lot about me humbling myself and developing patience as I do my best to teach a new missionary what it's like to be in the field. Even though it can be a little stressful at times, it's so nice to be with someone who's so excited about every little thing. She really has the missionary spirit that I feel like all of us kind of lose the longer we are here and you start to fall into a routine. At the end of the day, we discuss what went good in our lessons, and it's so humbling for me to hear how excited she gets over just the little impressions of the spirit, and seeing someone come to church. Missionary work is really the most rewarding feeling when you can see these people living the gospel!I'm excited to see what the next few weeks will bring. I know that Sister Panganiban and I have the faith and power to see miracles here in our area if we do our best and remain obedient.
Happy birthday shout out to Lindy, hope you and the kids are doing well! And thanks Grandma for the letter, love you!
I hope everyone has a great week, and continue to share this great gospel!
Mahal Kita!
Sister Bangerter

We went to the beach last P-day!

We went to the beach last P-day!

We went to the beach last P-day!

We went to the beach last P-day!

We went to the beach last P-day!

Giant eagle in my area

My anak Sister Panganiban!

My mission family (my trainer Sister Lazan)

Sister Sidwell is training too, our missions have been the same ha

Hindi Natutulog ng Dios 5/19/14

Kumusta everyone!
Ok, I feel like a lot happened this week, so I'll just start with some random things that have been going on in my everyday life here in Agoo.
1. I'm pretty sure this was the hottest week of the summer yet! I feel like I say that every week, but this week got up into the 100's for a couple of days, and when you don't have A/C that's like insanely hot. So for all of you back home, just do me a favor and go hug your A/C unit, be grateful for that thing!
2. We got this really awesome investigator this past week, and she even came to church after only the second time we taught her! Usually getting people to church is like pulling teeth, so this was a big deal. When we taught her more this week, she said that normally she doesn't entertain any missionaries, and even the first time we just tried to talk to her, she didn't have any intentions of listening. But the more we saw her and just talked, she felt like she should listen to us. After that experience, I know that this is the work of the Lord, run by the spirit, nothing that I do on my own.\
3. We have this awesome recent convert family that are like the strongest people I've ever met. They have such strong testimonies, and they want everyone to be members! We're working with their son right now, but he has work on sundays, and his boss won't let him go to church (rude) so pray that he can find a way to work and still be baptized! We have a date for him at the end of June.
4. We had interviews with President Balledoes this week, and I've decided that I have the nicest and most inspirational mission president. I'm sure everyone feels that way, but really, he's the best man ever. He talked to me a lot about finding new investigators, and related it all to tennis :). So this next transfer, I'm going to try and do my best to find those people who the Lord is preparing for me, and hopefully, I can be a little bit more like President Balledos too, he really is the best.
5. Our branch got realigned, so that awesome investigator I was talking about, yeah she's not in our area anymore :( but it's ok, this change is a good thing, and hopefully the goal is to become wards by next year. We just need some strong Priesthood, that that's going to be our focus now, baptizing some worthy men with priesthood potential.
 6. Just cause you need some randoms, it's mango season, and I'm pretty sure we have about 10 kilos of mango's at our apartment right now, everyone just keeps giving them away! And yesterday at church, this man came and interrrupted my conversation to tell me that my hair was beautiful. That happens a lot, but then he proceeded to tell me that I should cut it off and give it to him so that he can wash it.....yeah only in the Philippines!

Sorry for this extremely long email, but I just want you all to know too that I'm learning and growing so much each day. I'm so grateful for the wonderful people that I get to serve, I'm truly learning more from them than they are from me. I'm so grateful for the changes the gospel can make in people's lives, and I know that this is the Lord's true church. Sometimes, I feel like we can be a little like the children of Israel, and complain and murmer when any little thing goes wrong. But, always remember that there is so much more to be grateful for than we realize, and God really does bless us more than we sometimes deserve.
I love you all, and thanks for the letters Sara, Sister Behrmann, Lexie, and Penn-White!!
Mahal Kita,
Sister Bangerter

Me and Sister Hatch, she will probably be transferred this week 

The cutest baby ever!

Happy Mother's Day! 5/11/14

Kumusta pamilya at mga kaibigan!
I hope all of you mother's had a great Mother's Day! Mom I loved getting to talk to you, even if it was just for 30 minutes, and I want to let you know how much I love you! I'm so immensely grateful for all that you have done for me and taught me throughout my life. I know that I wouldn't be the person that I am if it wasn't for you and your example to me. I tell all of my companions and house mates about you, and they all agree that you are the most amazing and strongest woman ever. If I can be half the person that you are, I would satisfied with life. There really aren't even words enough for me to tell you how much a truly appreciate all that you have done for me. Each day on my mission I realize the sacrifices that you have made in your life so that I can be living this gospel and have the testimony to share it with others. So maraming maraming salamat talaga mom, you're the best mom ever!!
I had some really good experiences this week as well. I decided that I was going to do everything in my power to love these people more and really get to know them. Wow, I should have done that week one, because I can now say that I love the people that I teach here in my new area! They all have such amazing backgrounds, and I respect these converts so much. To hear about where they were before they were a member and see how they are now is truly amazing to me. Just goes to show that you can't give up on anyone, and for those of us like myself who grew up in the gospel should never take it for granted. It's the best feeling though to see a recent convert bare their testimony about the power of the Book of Mormon, when they only just started reading it a few months ago, and to have a less active remind you of the true power of prayer, how despite all the millions of people in the world, God really listens to each of our simple prayers.
I want you all to know that I love missionary work, it really is the best decision that I made in my life to go out and serve the Lord. It's turning me into a better person and true disciple of Christ.
Shout outs to Sister Behrmann, Elder Dunn, Elder Kendall, and Bishop Sybrowsky for the letters! And Happy Birthday Day Hermana Minnick, Elder Packard, and Sister Aroa, hope ya'll had the best days ever! And again Mom, I got 5 packages from you this week, you get Mom of the year award :)
Mahal Kita,
Sister Bangerter

Update from my last area in Baguio:
Sister Vinoya, a less active, is totally returned, got endowed in the temple, and is now the 2nd counselor in the young womens! Probably the best news I got all week :)

Chilling in the rice fields 

Just your native caribou bathing in the irrigation, even they know it's hot outside (also can we just take a moment to notice how HUGE my hair is here...the struggle)

Cute little Filipino kids

Dinner appointment with the ward missionaries. After this picture our branch mission leader told me my skin was like Coffeemate haha

Agoo Kay Ganda 5/4/14

Kumusta family and friends!
There was a lot going on this week for the city of Agoo. From May 1-4 they have a huge fiesta where there's parades and famous people come and perform and stuff. I hear it's really fun, sadly, we couldn't watch any of it, and even more sadly, literally everyone went to join in on the fun, ibig sabihin (meaning) none of our usual people we visit were home. As a missionary, I really hate holidays haha, but it's ok, there's something about walking for hours under the blazing sun that really changes your attitude about things. If there's one thing that I've learned on my mission, it's endurance. Everyday is a new day with new challenges and new triumphs too. In the course of a few hours, you can be on top of the world, floating from a great lesson with an investigator, then go and teach a less active who has so many trials and challenges, I promise myself that I'll never complain again, and then spend the rest of the day walking miles, trying to talk to people and getting rejected or just baking in the oven of the Filipino sun. You do a lot of deep thinking. Sometimes you wake up in the morning and just feel the heat wash over you, and you think that you don't even have the energy to move. But then you do, and you go out all day and all week and you fulfill your purpose as a missionary, crying repentance unto people, absorbing their problems, and putting yourself into their shoes. And then when you come home at night, no matter how tired you might be, not matter how little lessons you might have taught that day, you realize that it was still a good day. You realize that your own challenges are pretty petty compared to others, and that there are still way more blessing that we have received than we actually deserve. So every time I start to get down, or want to complain, I am hit in the face the the reality of the goodness of this gospel and the power of my calling.
  Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.
This is my drive and my reason to be here, our problems are never eternal and in the big scheme of things, God's plan and ways are always for our good. I realize that everyday. I'm so grateful for this gospel in my life. I'm grateful for the people who I serve here, and most importantly, I'm grateful for my family, I love ya'll more and more everyday. I want you all to know that I do have a strong testimony of this church and especially of the reality of Christ, His atonement and gospel. It is all that matters in life and what will give us the eternal happiness that we're all searching for!
I love you all so much, thanks for your prayers and love! And happy birthday shout outs to Soraya and Sister Behrmann, love ya'll!
Mahal Kita,
Sister Bangerter

Conference Talk of the Week: "I Will Not Fail Thee, Nor Forsake Thee" - President Monson

FHE Balderas Family