Week 23--December 23, 2013

Hey Everyone,

Merry Christmas in Two days! I am so excited to be able to Skype home on Wednesday! 

This past week has been crazy and this up coming week will be just as much so. This past week on Thursday we had Our Multi-Zone conference with the Riverside, Mount Rubidoux, and Moreno Valley Zones, in Moreno Valley, so we were in charge of putting it on. The conference was very good. We focused a lot on finding, and Teaching simply. I really enjoyed it it was a lot of fun. Elder Kirkland took some of the Finding ideas that we discussed in the conference and used them, and came up with a list of 40 people to go see that we could potentially teach that could be Part Member Families. So far every one of the people we have visited have been a Part Member Family, so it is good and we have a lot of work to do and we are staying busy. 

That Night we had a lesson with the Holmes family who we have been teaching a lot, and It was probably the most powerful lesson that I have been a part of teaching, we taught first Faith, and then we talked about Baptism, and Peter, the Dad, asked us why we push so much for baptism, and for a date? My reply to him was that it is a commandment, but also that I wanted him to be sealed to his family for time and all eternity, I told him that one thing that I learned from Elder Reed, was that we should share what we love the most about the gospel, and for me as for most people it is the fact that My family can be together forever. That hit him really hard, but then we talked to him about quitting smoking, and he said it was hard to quit, and that he was able to quit more serious drugs because he could see it hurting his family, but smoking was just hurting himself. I then told him something that I had been contemplating for weeks, I said through tears "Peter, are you really going to let cigarettes stop you from having an eternal family, isn't that stupid?" Peter almost broke down crying, and he committed to make the change to stop smoking. It was one of the most powerful experiences that I have ever had on my mission thus far, and It is the only time that I can remember crying in a lesson.

I hope that everyone is doing well and that everyone has a Merry Christmas

Elder Bangerter

**We were able to talk to Andrew yesterday on Skype for about 45 minutes.  It was great!  He is doing really well and is happy.  We hooked up the computer to the television so we could all see and talk to him at once.  It was great! **

Week 22--December 16, 2013

Sorry this is late...I just finished my semester of online school and I've been avoiding the computer this week.  Sharon

Well it has been another really hard week in MoVal, but this week has strengthened my testimony so much that Miracles happen. When the Lord gives us trials and a hard work, he ALWAYS places Miracles in our path. I have seen SO many Miracles this past week.

The week started off really slow but we did have a really good lesson on Monday that led to a miracle down the road. The lesson was with a young lady named Abby, so we had a lesson with her at the Garcia's house when we went over for dinner on Monday. Abby is very connected to the church but she isn't a member yet, All of her extended family on her mom's side of the family is LDS except her mom, and those that weren't are joining the church. On top of that a lot of her friends are LDS, so she has a lot of support. She had told the Garcia girls a few weeks ago that she wanted to be baptized, so going into the lesson we were Pretty excited. We taught her the Restoration and committed her to read 3 Nephi 11. We didn't hear back about her until Saturday, and Miranda Garcia showed us the text message that Abby had sent to her the night after our lesson with her. Abby had read the chapter and prayed and said that she definitely got her answer, and she knew without a doubt that it was true! Now we just have to work with her and pray that her parent's hearts will be softened toward the church. Sister Garcia is definitely helping with it too and talking to Abby's parents. It has been a crazy miracle that came out of nowhere and it is an excellent example of how missionary should be done, and that is Member missionary work. The Young Women in this ward are great, and they are being awesome missionaries. 

We then experienced a miracle on Thursday, my birthday, we had a lesson with the Holmes family, and Peter the Dad has told us that he was going to be baptized but he wasn't ready to give up his smokes and his drink yet. Well when we saw him on Thursday, he had been sober and off of smoking for a week! He is getting ready to be baptized most likely in January, and it was a much needed miracle, because when he gets baptized the whole family will follow!

Well in closing I will put in part of an email that I sent Sami, Brother Christiansen asked them to ask a missionary they know, What makes a good missionary?

What makes a good missionary? Anyone can be a good missionary. A good missionary isn't defined by how many people they baptize, a good missionary is a good missionary because they know why they are serving and who they are serving. Remember what King Benjamin said in his glorious sermon "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." (Mosiah 2:17) A good missionary isn't serving his or her mission, a good missionary is serving the Lord's mission in the area which he or she is called. It is my personal belief that the best missionaries serve the Lord because they love the Lord. Not because they want the blessings of serving a mission however great they might be, the blessings of serving a mission are great, but they are greater for those who serve because they love the Lord. A Good missionary gives everything that they've got to the work. Good missionaries will have lots of trials, but they rely on God to get through any trial. A good missionary NEVER gives up just like Ammon in the Book of Mormon says "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success." Missionary work is hard but it is the work of the Lord and Every good missionary knows that and lets the lord support him.

So... a good missionary Works Hard, Never Gives Up, is Completely Obedient to every commandment and standard of the lord, is Patient, tries to be as Christlike as possible, and most importantly Loves the Lord!

I hope everyone has a good week,

Elder Bangerter

Week 21--December 9, 2013

Oh man it has been HARD week.

The Area split and we now cover the South part of the area, which happens to be the Ritsy part of the area, so consequently all of our really solid Investigators went to the North area, so besides our two good investigators we have no investigators, so it has been a hard week. But I know that the Lord will Bless Us.

On the Front page of my planner for this transfer I have written, "Believe in Miracles, Pray for Miracles, Expect Miracles." If there is one thing that I have seen on my mission it is that Miracles Happen, If we have Faith that they will happen. The other thing I have written on my planner is a quote by Elder Holland. "Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come." and then “Don’t give up, boy. Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead—a lot of it...You keep your chin up. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come.”

We have seen a lot of miracles this week and I know that Good things are Coming. I am excited to see all the potential that this south area has.

Elder Bangerter

Those quotes from Elder Holland can be found here and here.

Week 20--December 2, 2013

So Transfers came again, and again I am getting a new Companion, Elder Kirkland, but that's not all! The area is Splitting so I am in charge of the split, Fun stuff. So Elder Kirkland and I will cover the Lasselle South area, but we will be all over the place this week because I will have to hand off investigators in the North to the missionaries that are coming in in the north. One of which was my first zone leader, Elder Albright, I love him to death and I look forward to working with him again. Elder Albright is getting a new Trainee on Tuesday. It's going to be a lot of hard work but it will be worth it.

Thanksgiving was awesome. We started off the day by playing Football with the Samoan ward, It was Nuts, But it was so much fun, the gospel must be so true in Samoan, everyone just loves each other and it's great. They throw out curse words at each other, but its all out of love. The prophet asked them to do genealogy, so they do it on their arms and Legs with Ink. They are great. Then We went to Dinner #1 with the Merrill's and Anderson's, it was great! We had lots of fun and then we had a pie fight with Brother Merrill and all his grandchildren. It was Lots of fun, I'll attach a picture from the aftermath.  Then we had Dinner #2 with the Jensen Family, It was a very nice dinner, and It was a lot of fun. I have never felt more stuffed in my life. Then we had dinner #3 with the Holmes family who is a Part member family, It was crazy.

Then Saturday after we had found out about Transfers we had dinner with the Poulter family, and we helped them decorate their Christmas tree, because it is one of their family traditions to have the Missionaries help decorate their tree. They are honestly one of my favorite families in the Lasselle ward, they do so much for us and they are so gun ho about missionary work. 

Then Sunday we Had another Baptism, for Brandon R, It was an awesome service and a great experience. I love Brandon a lot he is the Bomb. 

I hope all is well with every one at home and I'll send some pictures

Elder Bangerter

**Okay--It's not letting me add pictures, so I'll try again later.  Also, if you want to send him something for Christmas, please send it to the Mission Home address.  Sharon

Week 19--November 25, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! I hope everybody is having a great week and that everyone can enjoy this holiday season.

I can't believe that this transfer is coming to an end at the end of this week. It seems to me like every transfer gets better and better. The way it is kind of looking they are going to split the area at the end of the week and put Sisters in the ward too.  It is also very likely that Elder McConkie will be transferred to a new area since he is still in his first area. So I may be getting a new companion again. But I'll worry about that Next week. We need to be finishers at the end of each transfer and not be lazy.

It has been a good week and a good transfer. We have achieved the mission Standard of Excellence every week so far this transfer, We have Baptized and we should have two more baptisms this weekend, but if we don't it is okay, because both of them are totally committed to being baptized. The only thing that would stop them from getting baptized this weekend would be if the boy's mom doesn't recover from her surgery in time, so if it doesn't happen this weekend it will happen in the very near future. It is exciting to see the work progressing.

We had an awesome experience yesterday with a man we met on the street named Mark. So Mark lives up the street from us and we saw him bringing a HUGE fish tank out of his car and into his house. We helped him carry his tank into the house and then we taught him a lesson. He has committed to read the Book of Mormon, he hates his pastor because he mixes the bible with his own philosophies. Mark my words we will be baptized before the end of December. He is prepared and is ready to receive the gospel. It's incredible to see the Ballard Promise in action. (see this post.)

Elder Bangerter

Week 18--November 18, 2013

Sorry I'm late in putting this post up!  sharon

Family and Friends,

It has been another great week this week, we have seen a lot of miracles, and a lot of not-so-miracles. Elder McConkie and I didn't have a baptism this weekend, but that's okay I was going to have a baptism in Lake Elsinore this weekend, so we work out a ride for me to Lake Elsinore, and a team up for Elder McConkie, and we get to Lake Elsinore to the Church and there is a Youth Committee meeting in the Relief Society Room and I am thinking "what the heck there is supposed to be a baptism tonight," so I call Elder Reed and Elder Albright, and they don't answer. So a Sister at the church calls Elder Randall and the Wildomar Missionaries, and Elder Randall tries to get a hold of them and they don't answer. So I'm in Lake Elsinore and I have no idea what's going on, and Elder Reed and Albright don't answer their phone, so I asked Brother M to go to the member's house, because if there's anywhere in Lake Elsinore that the missionaries would be it's there (they live there), and the member's are the fellowshippers for the family getting baptized, so even if the missionaries weren't there they would know what was going on. So I get to the House and all the cars are there including the missionaries, so I knock on the door, enter the code to unlock the door and Sister P sees me and starts to say Yay, and I cut her off and say SHHH. I then go up the stairs and go into the Elder's room and I say "So how about that Baptism?" They turn around and go so red, and tell me that the Chen's canceled on the baptism the night before and they forgot to call. Apparently Brother Chen and Trisha (the daughter) got in an argument about whether or not she was ready to be baptized (Sister Chen was the one supposed to get baptized that day, and Trisha who is the 14 year old daughter wanted to be baptized), and Brother Chen ended up getting Drunk and calling off the Baptism for the next day. Not-so-miracle

But we did experience many Miracles with my district leader as my companion I get to see the ups and downs for all the Sisters in our district, One set of sisters had been working very hard with a lady for months, and all of a sudden she calls the sisters up and says I want to be baptized. Miracle

Elder McConkie and I found a girl who was looking for us and now she is on date for baptism in December, Miracle

We have had 5 new investigators and all but one are on date, Miracle 

And Many more miracles that I can't write for lack of time.

I hope everyone is good

Elder Bangerter

He also included a picture, but we don't know who it's of so I'll wait until we have the details before I share it.

Week 17--November 11, 2013

Family and Friends,

It has been a crazy week again. 

The biggest thing this week was that Oscar got Baptized!! It was an amazing Baptismal service and it was one of the most spiritual that I have ever been to. 

Oscar is a great guy and it was a miracle to see him get baptized. Some background information about Oscar, He was introduced to the church by his girlfriend who is a return missionary, He had been taught for almost 6 months and had been dropped by the missionaries 3 times and then picked up again after a while. Right before I came in to the area, Elder McConkie and Elder Hill Picked him up again. Oscar had been a pretty bad basher before he was picked up again, but I was able to come in and helped him resolve his concerns through the Book of Mormon. He was Baptized 3 weeks later. It was amazing to see his heart change and to see him come unto Christ. 

At his baptism there was a lot of opposition but the spirit was so strong at the baptism, and we were kind of scared that he was only getting baptized for his Girlfriend, but he bore his testimony and said "I got Baptized to pursue God" The spirit hit me so hard and I knew he was Converted to the Gospel. It was an incredible experience.

Well in other News Elder McConkie and I got the Standard of Excellence again for the mission, making it two out of three weeks this transfer that we have gotten it.

I hope everyone is doing well

Elder Bangerter

Week 16--November 4, 2013

Friends and Family,

It has been another great week! We are working hard and the Lord is blessing us!

We got to go to the temple this week on Friday, and it was great. I had been praying about something that Elder Reed had told me before I left Lake Elsinore, and he told me that He thought that I was going to be in leadership next transfer, and I had been Praying a lot about it, and when we were in the temple I recieved my answer. It is good to know that the lord does answer our prayers, because he definitely answered mine. It was a great and much needed experience.

We did have a baptism yesterday of John "the Baptist", it was one of the most inspirational baptisms that I have ever been to, and it really strengthened my testimony that it is never too late to change to follow the lord. John is 75 years old! if it's not too late for him it's not too late for anyone. I am so happy I was able to be there. I am honored that he asked me to be the one who confirms him next Sunday.

We do have a baptism again on this Saturday, for Oscar S, I have been there for the teaching of all but one of the lessons for Oscar and helped him realize that the Lord had already answered his prayer about the Book of Mormon. I think that I am going to be the one Baptizing him on Saturday but I don't know for sure.

If all goes well we should have a baptism every weekend this month and that is our goal, and right now it is looking like it is going to happen. And I get to go back to Lake Elsinore to See Jennifer C get baptized in two weeks It is awesome. I love this work so much.

I hope that all is well with everyone

Elder Bangerter

Here's a picture from John's baptism.

Pumpkin carving pictures thanks to the family he's living with.  :-)

Week 15--October 28, 2013

Well this week has been a very interesting week. 

My new Companion Elder McConkie, Bruce R. McConkie's great nephew, is great. Moreno Valley is great. I am in the Lasselle ward and it is awesome, the ward isn't as missionary focused as the Lake Elsinore Ward, but the members love us missionaries. 

I had an interesting experience this weekend though, So it was the Moreno Valley Stake Conference, and the missionaries were invited to the adult session of stake conference, and Elder McConkie and I were late getting there and this guy was up speaking and it was the end of the session and I asked Elder McConkie if that was the Stake President and he said "No, I don't know who that is." So we go to conference the next morning and this guy who was speaking comes up and talks to Elder McConkie and I for a few minutes, and by our last names he says you must both be from Utah, both of us said no, he thought that it was pretty interesting that both of us having Prominent LDS last names were companions, but then he went up and sat on the stand. It turns out that he was Elder Smith of the Seventy, that was a pretty interesting feeling realizing that we had just talked to a General Authority. But He is also one of the Seventies in charge of the Southwest United States, and with President Smart on the stand, over the pulpit he said that getting to look at the numbers for missions in the area and around the world, the California Riverside Mission is the Most productive mission in the United States west of the Mississippi river (most Baptisms per Companionship).

It was a great conference and it is great to see the Lord working miracles in this area. We have a baptism this Sunday, and we are Baptizing John the Baptist, Not really but that's his nickname, He is a 75 year old black man who was a devout Baptist for 60 years and now he is getting baptized it is awesome!

I hope everyone is having a great week,

Elder Bangerter

Week 14--October 21, 2013

Holy Cow I'm Getting Transferred to Moreno Valley. It has been an amazing three months In Lake Elsinore. I have learned so much from being here in Lake Elsinore. I am being transferred to the Laselle Ward in Moreno Valley, My new Companion is Elder McConkie, I am so excited for this up coming transfer. All I have heard about my area is good stuff, and I have only heard positive things about Elder McConkie. I am Excited.

Here is my Letter to President Smart:

 President Smart,

I want to say thank you so much for the opportunity that I had to Serve in Lake Elsinore, I have learned so much from serving my first three months here in Lake Elsinore. As I got the call from the Zone Leaders on Saturday that I was being transferred My Heart was full of gratitude, I received very strong Impressions that I was leaving Lake Elsinore during General Conference, I am so very thankful that I can know that I am in tune with the spirit. 

I have seen so many Miracles the past three months and have truly learned so much. I remember when I first came into the area and I had almost no clue what was going on. But through trials and blessings I have grown so much. I think I grew a lot with Elder Elliott and learned a lot about my self, but then when Elder Reed came in I learned so much about being a hard worker and teaching by the spirit.

I have learned that as I set my mind to a goal that I can always achieve it, as long as it is in accordance with Heavenly Father's will. One thing that Elder Elliott said was that he didn't think that we could achieve the Standard of Excellence in Lake Elsinore, but I always had that as my goal, and when Elder Reed came in we set a goal to achieve the Standard before the end of the Transfer, and through many miracles we achieved that our second to last week together.

I am so excited to serve in Moreno Valley,

Elder Bangerter

I hope everyone has a good week.

Here's a picture of Andrew and his new companion.  They are living with a family again and they sent me a picture!  :-)

**Let me know if you want his new address...or, as always, you can send letters and packages through the mission home.  Sharon**

Week 13--Unlucky?--October 14, 2013

This weeks letter was hard for me, as his mom, to read in light of this story

Luckily Andrew was alright!

So this week I have learned that with every trial comes many blessings and how much the lord will bless us for our faith.

So the week started off pretty well on Monday we hiked up the Ortega Mountains and got to see the Ocean, which was pretty darn amazing. Then we had French Toast for dinner and it was awesome. Tuesday was a pretty regular day. Wednesday was interesting, we were on exchanges and I was with Elder Baker in The Ortega area, we had multi-zone conference with President Smart It was really good we talked about adjusting to missionary life. Then we went back to proselyting  and It POURED rain all afternoon but it was a lot of fun. Fast forward to Saturday we need 5 member present lessons and 5 other lessons to achieve the standard of excellence for the week and while riding between lessons I got in a bike wreck, but  My bike doesn't even really have a scratch on it besides on the pedal, my pants that I was wearing is a different story. So what happened I was coming around a corner at a fairly good speed and took the turn a little wider than I expected and there was a car coming so I slammed on my back break and my bike went out from under me and I slid with my bike on the asphalt to a stop. The thing about it that I wasn't very happy about was that the lady in the car just drove off. Anyways the whole thing wasn't too bad I only ended up with a torn up pair of pants and a bloody knee, my knee was scraped up until where my garments started and then there was nothing, my pants got all torn up but there wasn't a single mark on my garments, no dirt, no blood, nothing. luckily we were only a block away from our house so I was able to clean up and get going again. Then later that Day I got Beer spit on me, and then when we were riding home Some guys threw full beer cans at us. It was one heck of a day. But then on Sunday we had 5 investigators at church. Then by truly a miracle we got all the lessons we need and we achieved the weekly standard of excellence.

I am running short on time so I'll have to stop there but it was a CRAZY week

Elder Bangerter

Week 12--October 7, 2013

I can't believe that in 10 days I will have been out on my mission for 3 months, to me that is crazy. There is a saying from the MTC that really helps explain the paradox of time while serving a mission, "The days feel like weeks, and the weeks feel like days!" It is so true though, time flies by like it is nothing.

It has been a great week this week capped off by an amazing general conference. The spirit was very present through every message. When President Monson spoke on Sunday morning I almost started crying when he was talking about his wife, and also later because of the spirit that was present during his message. The spirit truly did manifest and confirm to me that Thomas S. Monson is a Prophet of God. I have absolutely no doubts in my mind that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is Christ's chuch restored on the earth today. I was so very impressed by every single message, I could take something from every one of them and apply it to me. 

We had a special stake meeting called by our stake presidency 2 hours after general conference was finished yesterday, for the whole stake. It was truly amazing, with the stake splitting two weeks ago, to see the concentration of the new stake presidency in a new stake. As the meeting started, it was called the Inaugural meeting of the Lake Elsinore stake (We were previously in the Menifee stake), President Wilson called all the Youth age 15-18 to come sit in the choir chairs on the stand and he said that through General Conference we have seen that as the Morals and Standards of the World spiral downward, the Faith and Valiance of the youth spiral upward. In President Wilson's words "the mission age has been lowered again, the age for all members of the church especially this stake the mission age is what ever age you are." The stake presidency has set the focus of the stake to be on missionary work, the goal is for every family to bring someone who is Less Active in the church back to church, and to baptize one person. I am so glad that I have to serve in Lake Elsinore Right now, our stake presidency is pushing missionary work, our bishop and ward council have been pushing missionary work, It is truly Amazing. President Wilson was talking to one of the general authorities about why the brethren are pushing missionary work right now and the general authority told him that the lord is trying to save as many of his children as he can before the world becomes too corrupt.

I am so glad to be serving here right now, we have 2 people very solidly on date for baptism at the end of this month, and we have picked up 12 new investigators over the past few weeks. I hope that I get to stay in Lake Elsinore for longer than the Two weeks that are left in the transfer, because I want to see these baptism's through and see the miracles that the lord is continuing to bring in to Lake Elsinore right now. But I get the feeling that a week from Saturday I will be getting a call either from President Smart, or my Zone Leaders that I will be transferring out of Lake Elsinore. I'll go where the Lord wants me to go and where he needs me.

I hope that all is well with everyone, I enjoy the mail and packages that everyone is sending me.

Elder Bangerter

Those interesting in watching or reading messages from General Conference can access them here.

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2013/10?cid=HPFR100413105&lang=eng

Week 11--September 30, 2013

It has been an amazing week! Last week almost all of our lessons flaked, this week we were so busy with lessons that we could hardly make all of them. It was a nice change.

The week started off really well when we had a special zone conference with Elder Kent F. Richards of the Seventy, It was like 4 hours straight of revelation. And It's not very often when you get to role play with a general authority. Yes, I got to role play with a general authority, in front of the mission president and 1/3 of the mission. It was an incredible experience, the spirit was so strong during the role play that it was amazing. It's incredible the spirit that he brought with him. I really learned in the conference that the spirit is happiness,  not that it leads to happiness, it is happiness, and we need to share that with everyone.

The rest of this week has been amazing, we had one lesson short of the standard of excellence. That was a bummer but we were just led by the spirit all week and had amazing lessons.

It has been great getting mail from everyone it really makes everyday that much better. I hope all is well.

Elder Bangerter

Week 10--September 23, 2013

Oh man it I'm glad that this past week is over. It was a hard week. I'm ready to have an amazing week this week.

Everyday we had our investigators flake out of lessons. We had some dinners cancel. We had an investigator drop us. Everything was hard but It was still worth it for the good things that happened this week. 

Elder Reed and I had some really good lessons this week even though we had some lessons flake, We had some really good Lessons with Anthony. He is progressing so much and he has come so far, A year ago he was in Prison with a Life sentence, but one day he had a vision of angels and he decided to change his life, and to become a better person. He definitely has, he is now married and is progressing towards baptism, he is trying to start an anti-bullying movement with his art and t-shirts. I had a dream about him the other night, and I know that he will be baptized within the next two months. All he has to do is go to church. Then we have started teaching Cheyenne again and she is totally committed and she is ready for baptism. She moved up her own baptismal date 5 days because it would be the anniversary her LDS grandmother's death. It is amazing to see all the progress that she is making again.

I think that I have spent more time praying the past few days then I think I ever have. But I know that The Lord is there and he hears my prayers, the feeling of comfort that comes when I pray is absolutely amazing. I love this gospel and I know that it is true. 

I'm pretty excited for tomorrow. We are having Multi-Zone conferences and Elder Kent Richards of the Seventy is coming to speak to us. It should be awesome.

I hope all is well with everybody.

Elder Bangerter

Week 9--September 16, 2013

Hey everybody It's been an awesome week!

My new Companion is Elder Reed, from Reno, NV, he is absolutely awesome! He and I get a long super well, and we are very effective together, and he taught me how to solve the rubik's cube. It's awesome how good of a follow up trainer he is, I really think that He is helping me become the missionary that I need to be! It's awesome to see how much we can accomplish together. 

I have had some pretty amazing experiences this week.

First, Seeing the "Ballard Promise" in action. The Ballard promise is a promise that Elder Ballard made to missionaries that if we would talk to 10 people, 20 per companionship, on the street outside of tracting and open our mouths, our convert baptisms will double. So as we have gotten our OYM's  everyday, this week and made sure that every one of them was effective, we picked up 5 new investigators through street contacts.

Second, If as missionaries we make a promise, that a blessings will come if someone keeps a commitment, no matter how much of a miracle it is, it will happen. One of our investigators named Anthony, his wife was in the Hospital with pneumonia and the doctors were scared as to whether or not her and her unborn child would survive. As we were having this lesson with him and he brought the situation up, he told us that he was going to go visit her that night. I promised him that if he took a Book of Mormon with him and read 3 Nephi 11 with his wife in the hospital, then she would be out of the hospital by the end of the week. He Kept that commitment and she was out of the Hospital the next day.

It has been an awesome week, and I feel like Devon (Captain Awesome) from Chuck because I am saying awesome so much.

Love you guys

Elder Bangerter

Week 8--September 9, 2013

Wow it has been an amazing 6 weeks here in Lake Elsinore! I have learned and grown so much it's crazy, and It is one of the most amazing feelings serving the Lord! 

We got the call that Elder Elliott was being transferred out at 9:30 Saturday night, and he was transferred out today to the Valle Vista ward in Hemet. I can't tell if he was excited or not. He called his new companion who is there now, and asked if Hemet is really as bad as everybody says it is, the Elder told him that his companion couldn't sleep most nights because of all the sirens and gunshots... So it'll be an adventure for him.

My new companion, Elder Reed, will arrive in Lake Elsinore around 4 this afternoon. I'm excited, from what everybody tells me he is an awesome missionary. They are splitting my district and Elder Reed was brought in to be the new district leader, so it'll be an awesome experience.

This week we have done a lot of stuff, we didn't get as many lessons this week but we got a lot of stuff done. We, really just me, rearranged our room. We cleaned up a lot of our ward records, and got this week planned. Now I'm just waiting around for my new companion, playing ball.

Hope everyone is doing well,

Elder Bangerter

Week 7--September 2, 2013

Hey everybody!

It has been an amazing week! We had a baptism this weekend and the picture attached is from the baptism.

Yeah, so our investigator, Lisa, was baptized this past Saturday, It is truly amazing how the gospel can change someone's life. Lisa asked me to speak at the baptism, on baptism, and it was just an amazing experience, the spirit was so strong there, and it is incredible to see the changes in Lisa's life, and in her boyfriend Zack's life as he overcame a lot to be able to baptize her.

I feel that I have learned so much this past week! I have learned the Importance and the difference that being bold can make. As I was on splits with Elder Carbonneau this week I truly learned how big of a difference that being bold can be. As we were teaching one of his investigators the investigator was trying to flake on his baptism and Elder Carbonneau basically told him that If he didn't get baptized that week on his set date, then Satan would gain control of him and he would never be baptized. The investigator was baptized on Friday. I have learned so much about just always trying to love my companion. There are quite a few days that he just drives me insane, but I have learned to look past that and to Love him any way.

I have really been studying and pondering a lot this week and one of the talks that I have been reading is the Character of Christ by David A. Bednar and it is truly an amazing talk and I personally have learned so much and been very uplifted from it. Here is a quote from it

"Perhaps the greatest indicator of character is the capacity to recognize and appropriately respond to other people who are experiencing the very challenge or adversity that is most immediately and forcefully pressing upon us. Character is revealed, for example, in the power to discern the suffering of other people when we ourselves are suffering; in the ability to detect the hunger of others when we are hungry; and in the power to reach out and extend compassion for the spiritual agony of others when we are in the midst of our own spiritual distress. Thus, character is demonstrated by looking and reaching outward when the natural and instinctive response is to be self-absorbed and turn inward. If such a capacity is indeed the ultimate criterion of moral character, then the Savior of the world is the perfect example of such a consistent and charitable character." -David A. Bednar

I hope that all is going well

Elder Bangerter

Week 6--August 26, 2013

It's been another great week! Everyday I grow to love it more and more here.

It was awesome getting the package from home, and I hope everyone writes me because I love getting letters.

We have a baptism scheduled for Saturday for Lisa.  It has just been an amazing experience to see her progress and grow in the gospel, we started teaching her on my second day in the area, so I have been here and seen her progress from nothing to a full believer in the gospel. Satan has been working so hard in our zone that it's crazy, we have had in the zone 3 scheduled baptisms for people who were very solid cancel on us. Luckily all of the people that have canceled have rescheduled for the upcoming weeks. 

It's just amazing to see how the lord blesses peoples lives. I have had so many experiences thus far on my mission that I have no doubt in my mind that this is the lord's church on the earth today. I know that Jesus Christ Lives and that he is our savior and redeemer.

Elder Bangerter

Week 5--August 19, 2013

Hey everybody!

It's been another crazy week! But this past week went by really fast. 

Tuesday, During my personal study I was studying a lot about the parable of the workers in the Lord's vineyard, so I would read the parable a couple times, then I would ponder it, then I would read what it says about the parable in Jesus the Christ. While I was reading some things really stuck out to me, first the Lord is always looking for servants and people to work in his vineyard, he doesn't care how long you've been there, he just cares that you served him at the end of the day.  Second, If we serve the Lord because we want the blessings, he will give you those blessings and nothing more, Whereas if we serve the Lord with faith that he will provide for you, he will bless us with every blessing that we need. Finally, I feel really impressed that we need to serve the Lord because we love him, Not just to be obedient, or for the blessings, We need to serve the Lord because we love him. I feel that as Elder Holland said, there will come a time when we will come face to face with Christ, and he will ask us "Did you Love me?" and I personally want to be able to say "Yea Lord, Thou knowest that I love thee." 

We had our district meeting later that day and I had to role play with one of the other Elders, and after the role play, one of our zone leader's (Elder Albright) said "You know everyone has there greatest strengths and weaknesses and I really feel that Elder Bangerter's greatest strength is the love that he exhibits towards everyone. You can see it in his eyes, and hear it in his voice." 

Wednesday, I was on splits in Temescal Canyon, I got to meet some more amazing people it was awesome. I spent the day with Elder Bushman, and we both being greenies fresh out of the MTC we gave 3 blessings on Wednesday.

Thursday, We got to go to the Temple, and a few weeks ago they released a new endowment video, so we got to see that. It was incredible, there is added emotion that definitely helps me personally learn a lot more. I would encourage all of you guys to go see it as it is amazing.

Lessons with our investigators are going great, incredible in fact, but we did have to push the dates for the baptisms for all of our investigators back a little bit for logistical reasons and because two of them were sick, and they have to be at church 3 times before they can be baptized. We do have 2 more people on date for baptism though so we had to sacrifice a little time but we should have 5 baptisms the first two weeks in September. 

I hope all is well with everyone,

Elder Bangerter

Week 4--August 12, 2013

Hey Everybody!

It has been another great and crazy week. We have been biking between 20-45 miles everyday, that alone is very tiring. Since coming out I have put on 5 pounds, but it looks like I have actually lost some weight since leaving the MTC. I'm so glad to hear from everybody, it is awesome.

I am growing to love it more here everyday, the people are amazing, and it is so beautiful here. We have had a lot of great lessons and we currently are getting the most Member present lessons in the whole zone averaging 12 a week! We still have Three investigators on date for baptism for this month, and all of them are excited and progressing very well towards baptism.

Of our dinner appointments 5 of them canceled last week, someone fed us every day but it's a little frustrating when the original appointments cancel. We ended up having In-N-Out 3 times this past week. But we're surviving pretty well ;)

I have been reading a lot from Our Search for Happiness by M. Russell Ballard a lot lately, and it is an absolutely incredible book and resource. The book is very much directed at non members but it gives amazing insight on almost every lesson we teach as missionaries. I have also been studying a lot of Christs Parables, especially the parable of the laborers in the lord's vineyard, so I'll read the parable through a couple times, and then ponder what I think that the Savior is trying to teach, and then I'll go and study the parable again through Jesus the Christ. It is absolutely incredible the insights that I have received.

It has been a crazy week I hope everybody is doing well

Elder Bangerter

Week 3--August 5, 2013

Holy First week!!!

It was awesome to talk to you guys on Tuesday! As Sister Smart said I am currently serving in the Lake Elsinore area/ward in the Lake Elsinore Zone, which happens to be the Largest bike area in the mission. My bike has been running great and it has been awesome so far, except biking up the hill in Tuscany, which when we go down it we get going close to 60mph just coasting. Elder Elliot and I live in a home share with a family, they are awesome, and their son reminds me a lot of Cody.

It has been a crazy week for lessons, there have been days where we have 6 scheduled lessons, and there have been days when we have none. As of this week we have 4 investigators committed to baptism, and at least 2 more who are very close to committing to baptism. First there is Cheyenne, and her boyfriend Jeff, who are committed and looking forward to being baptized on August 31st.

Then there is Lisa, who has committed to be baptized on the 31st as well, Elder Elliot and I are very impressed with her progress, because we have only had one lesson with her, but she has come to church twice and she fasted on her own yesterday to know if the church was true. Then there is Melissa who was scheduled to be baptized in June but she decided she didn't feel ready to be baptized, she still wants to be baptized but we don't yet have a date for her to be baptized. 

Lake Elsinore is a lot like Houston, its very hot but its not quite as humid as it is at home. Its a great area and zone, and we actually don't really play basketball on P-Day, we play lots of Volleyball. Lots of Awesome stuff happening here:)

Elder Bangerter

If you want his address to write to him, let me know in the comments and I will email it to you.  :-)  Sharon

Week 2--July 26, 2013

I love this picture!  Our boy from Texas...in Provo, Utah...pointing to California...wearing a Wyoming T-shirt.  :-)

Hey guys,

     This week at the MTC has been great! and has been very long.... the Zone Leaders before us told us that the days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days, It is sooo true!

     Last Friday we started lessons with Debi, one of our progressive investigators, it has been going okay, she has a lot of hold backs, but little by little we have been able to help her out, but our other progressing investigator has been going great, his name is Randy and every time we go to teach him the spirit is so strong and it's amazing. We committed him to read 2 Nephi 31, and 3 Nephi 11 by the end of the week and to pray to know if it was true, and then he prayed with us, the Spirit was so strong that it was amazing!

     Yesterday we had in-field orientation, it was a great experience, we learned a lot about finding people and using members, we did lots of role-plays and just practiced finding our investigators. We have been learning a lot about teaching, and teaching people, not teaching lessons. I can attest to how true that is, with our first few lessons with Debi we just tried to teach the lesson, and it wasn't very effective, but our last few lessons with her and then our Two lessons with Randy we have really focused on teaching them and teaching what they need by the spirit, and it has gone so much better. I think if we had one more lesson with Randy we would have committed him to baptism.

     We have focused a lot on the Book of Mormon during our class time this past week, and receiving revelation through it. We as a district read Alma 5 and wrote down our feelings as we read, and It really stuck out to me that Jesus Christ, the good shepherd, is always calling for us, and we just have to listen to him and come unto him. He never gives up on us, he doesn't care how long it takes, he doesn't care how long we've been gone or where we've been he just cares that we came unto him. It's like the parable of the workers in the vineyard, the master doesn't care how long we have been working in the vineyard, all he cares about is that we came. The blessings are the same for someone who has been in the gospel their whole life as someone who is a convert.

I hope that all is well with everybody!

Elder Andrew Stephen Bangerter

No explanation needed.

 Since there were no explanations, we are assuming these pictures are of his district, minus whomever is taking the picture.  Steve says Andrew's companion is the one to the right of Andrew (his left)  in each picture.

Andrew's email--July 19, 2013

Okay, Steve thought I should post the whole email for people to read so here it is.  I cleaned it up a little to make it easier to read.

Hey Guys!!!

As it turns out Friday's are P-Day for my zone here at the MTC. It has been amazing here.  The spirit is so strong. Trying to learn is like trying to drink water from a Fire hose!!!

It has been a tiring and VERY long two days so far. I got here on Wednesday and ended up seeing Lein on my walk to the front desk and I got to talk to him for a few minutes, He wasn't my host, he actually ended up being Kyle’s host.

So we Got to the MTC and we were "grabbed" by a host, and then our host walked us through the campus, helped with luggage, took us to the bookstore to get our study materials, took us to our residence, and then took us to our Classroom. There in our classroom we came one by one and eventually met our companions. I have an awesome companion, Elder Felix, he's from Brigham City, Utah, He's just great!!!

After we met our companions, we went and all the new missionaries had a big meeting with the MTC Mission Presidency. It was absolutely incredible! When we all stood up and sang Called to Serve, the spirit hit me so hard that I could barely sing! Then that evening we met our Zone Leaders, and went to bed.

Yesterday was probably one of the longest and most tiring days I have ever experienced, even though we were sitting most of the day. We had our first real lessons yesterday. The day started off with a workshop right after breakfast about People and Our Purpose, It was a real eye opener, and it taught us to really feel unconditional love towards everybody. Everybody is a child of our Heavenly Father and EVERYBODY is loved by him.

The rest of the morning was spent with study time, personal, companion, and District study time, I learned so much during study time, especially about the importance of enduring to the end.

After Lunch, we came back and we learned about our progressive investigators, and we really are trying to develop Christ like love for her even though we have only seen a video about her. We made lesson plans and then we went to a workshop about our MTC resources.

Following that, we had dinner, and then went to meet our branch presidency. We were all interviewed by the members of the branch presidency. Then the Branch presidency made some callings... Elder Robbins, who is one of my roommates, was called as our district leader, Sisters Allen and Neilson from our district were called as the new Sister Training Leaders for the Zone, and then finally Elder Felix and I were called as the new Zone Leaders.

It's hard for me to believe that I had been here for a little over 24 hours and was called as a Zone Leader! Obviously, the Lord has a lot of faith in Elder Felix and I, and so do the Branch presidency.

Today we would normally have the opportunity to go to the Provo temple but the temple is closed until the middle of August. So instead, we have 5 hours of free time. 

Love you guys and miss you so much,

Elder Bangerter