I'll start with a bit of advice. Never leave your house without an umbrella. Today, we casually strolled out in our white shirts for P-day. After shopping and lunch we found ourselves in quite the predicament: it was raining cats and dogs and we had to get to the internet cafe so that I could right this email. Obviously we survived the Mississippi and Missouri that we crossed to get here. You should embrace this moment, this is probably the most you'll ever feel like the early pioneers who didn't know if they would receive mail from their loved ones on missions because of mother nature's best efforts. Just imagine that this email is on wet parchment and you can barely make out the words because the ink is bleeding.
It may sound dramatic, but it is just really fun. I'm having a blast over here. I've jokingly told my companion that I want to be a weatherman when I get home because I love seeing the clouds roll in, sunsets etc.
This week I've fell in love...with the book of mormon. Not the book of mormon but the BOOK of mormon. The little one. Only 9 chapters. I would say it is some of the most underrated and underread scripture in the Book of Mormon. I've imagined in my minds eye Mormon, a man who sees no hope in his people. Yet he leads them because they look to him. They plead with him to guide their armies. He leaves them, but goes back to help even though he knows it will probably be in vain. He realizes that even though he may not bring them to Christ, he can still help them. This Apostasy contained in these 9 chapters is sobering. No longer do the battles have inserts of how the leader "spiritually" prepared the people. No longer to generals council with prophets. No longer does the Lord deliver his people. No, each battle is decided according to the strength of the men. To me, I just pictured the NFL: Survival of the fittest, no drive, just money, except for the rookie QB (Mormon) who has that fire in his throw and has a desire to win. I hope it was alright to compare football to the Book of Mormon. Then consider the final testimony of this "Hall of Famer". It is humbling and beautiful as he describes his purpose in writing. For me, I found the most power in Moroni's conclusion of his fathers record. I imagine that he didn't know if what he was writing was the end of the record. Reading it like it IS the last chapter of the whole book really puts it into perspective. Thankfully, we have the books of Ether and Moroni to round it out.
We often wonder why people don't except the gospel. I wonder why the people of the Book of Mormon reject the prophets. Why does apostasy happen? I find it everywhere: national and personal. It is because of one thing, not recognizing God's hand in your life. When one becomes too self-centered, their reliance on God diminishes. I've seen too many people here recognize the truth of the gospel, but aren't willing to give to God, in the words of President Packer, "the only thing that he can't take away", our agency. We are the deciding factor for anything in our life. Gods for us, satans against us: we choose. It is a gift from God, but we must give it back. The way to give it back is to do what he wants us to do. The way to do what he wants us to do is to recognize what he's done for us, what he's done for our ancestors, and what he will do for the children of God in the future. Then after we recognize, we'll WANT MORE and start to live more righteously. The gosple becomes a part of us and a constant adventure. I really want to keep up this studying even after my mission (I guess I should focus on the 2 years at hand now!)
I see miracles every day. some are big and some are small. Some are manifest in numbers but most are not. I just love the little light that we can be in someone else's life. My favorite miracle is seeing myself stop someone randomly and we end up teaching them a lesson. This is a miracle because I think of what they're life would be like if we didn't stop them.
I love my district. The Zone Leaders and the Sisters are also in our city so we see them all the time. All of us just want to work so hard. The Zone Leaders have a baptism next week, so that's super exciting for all of us! The Senior couple (Jones) is just amazing. I love talking with Elder Jones. He was a dairy man in Cache Valley and was drafted into the Vietnam War. He reminds me of Grandpa, Uncle Steven, David, and all the Hicken Uncles in one. He's great. He serves as the Branch President and does a tremendous job. We'll miss him when they leave in a few weeks, as well as sister jones's cooking (I need to run a little more now!)
Sounds like life is HAPPENING back home. I love the updates. I think about you all the time. Keep the members and non-members of Kosovo in your prayers!
Love,
Elder Bangerter
P.S. Mom, do you know how much my money card started with, and the history of withdrawrals? Thanks
P.P.S. Mom and Dad, I love you so much. One thing I've realized this week has to do with you. In the MTC someone gave a talk about reasons for serving a mission: (in order) Everybody else is/ They want me to, for yourself, for others home and abroad, for the lord. I immediatly thought, "oh I want to be the last and greatest serving for the lord" which I've learned is the wrong attitude. Last night for example, I was washing the dishes and I thought, "why am I doing this? why do I wash dishes?" And I realized that it was becuase If I saw you, mom, walk into my apartment, thats what you'd want me to do. I did it because you, dad, always did it with me and that it was comfortable. I wasn't "doing it for the Lord", but for you. Sometimes I just do what I do becuase I know that if I did anything different YOU would be disappointed in me. We don't have to jump to the "last and greatest" of talks like I did. I realized that I needed to evaluate where I was at and then work from there. Thank you so much for everything! I love you.... a lot! Ti amo! Ich liebe dich! Ju dua!
Pictures: Bell tower in Prishtina...notice the different wrong times
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