Wow, what a week! I've been having a great time with Elder Fowles as we hit the half-way point of the transfer, which will end between Christmas and New Years. Thank you for all the updates on the farm, family, football, and all the pictures (you all know I'm talking about Dad right?) But really, I am so happy to see all the happy faces at Garlick or Pony parties. I'm also grateful to see all the great-grandchildren enjoy the farm as much as we enjoyed it (and we still do!)
Well I'm enjoying my own type of harvesting. Yes, sometimes it does rain on the hay, and field no longer appears white. But, we must have faith and patience to let it dry, and THEN it will be ready to harvest! For example, we had a baptism planned this week. However, the interview became impossible to schedule with work, travel, etc. We thought this was bad, until this extra delay led us to find one of our investigators needs, seeing that they weren't actually ready for baptism. So now, we'll let the rain dry out and the harvest will commence in the near future! Sometimes God works in strange ways!
This upcoming week we have Elder Timothy J. Dyches of the Seventy, and a counselor in the Europe Area, coming to speak at our mission conference. I am very grateful, cause as opposed to hearing 70s speak in the MTC, I'll finally have some real application to do when I return to my apartment!
I am so grateful for the opportunity to touch a life. A smile is the most precious reward. Recently, Elder Fowles and I had a conversation about what really matters in life. After discussing about how all the 'cool little Albanian souvenirs' are neat, yet really unimportant, he said, ''during that one lesson, I realized, 'this is the greatest souvenir. that I can touch this man's life'.''
Time and time again, I am drawn to the words, ENJOY IT! For if you aren't enjoying what you are doing, why are you doing it!? Find what you enjoy and do it, or--maybe more appropriately--find the joy in what you do.
A neat story came from one of our 10 year old recent converts Emanuel. Last week we gave him a prayer rock, so that each night he could remember to pray. This week, as we checked up on him, we asked, "well, how's your prayers?" he said, "Well, I sometimes forget, but when I wake up at 3 in the morning to get a drink I feel the rock under my head and I say a prayer right then!" Yes, he's only ten years old, but I look forward to when he is 12 and he will get the priesthood. Sometimes as a missionary you expect everyone to develop the good habits, even a 10 year old! but then you ask yourself, "Well, when I was ten, did I read my scriptures every day?" After asking myself that, I felt pretty humbled.
The days are still pretty warm around here. I feel like Elder Garlick when I say that I am in awe that I read Nëntor in my planner (that means November, and thanks Joe).
Claire, thank you so much for writing that letter to our investigator. To let you know, she has since come to church twice! She and her little son are just a ray of sunshine!
We have a new investigator named Tomi. He's 64, cleans houses, has a lemon tree (of from he gives us unripe lemons), has come to church the last two weeks, and has a voice like Popeye and a Baptismal Date for the beginning of December! I am so grateful to teach, cause each time I teach I can testify.
I don't know if I've told you that President Weidmann sends us daily texts during our morning workout. But recently, he has counseled us to take advantage of testifying of Jesus Christ, at every moment you have. Some times at a door you think, "Ah man, this fellow really doesn't want to hear from us", but then you remember to bear your testimony. He may slam the door, but you still bore your witness...cause if you didn't, you would've been just like any other missionary from another Church.
Elder Fowles is such a great missionary. For example, he is a real example of writing in your journal daily. As a companionship, we developed a habit: 50 min study, 10 min of journal writing, etc. As the days fly by in a blur, I'm grateful that I have some of the choice experiences written down to cherish. I hope that you can do the same. I recall that after Grandpa Bangerter's passing, we went to his office in Alpine. On the shelves were his now-typed journals. I remember picking one out from 1995. I went to my birthday and found that he had written a little paragraph about my birth, and later in the month, he wrote a little of my baby blessing. I noticed that his entries were only a couple of paragraphs, but it warmed my soul to know that he had thought of me. How many of us, when picking up a journal of someone else immediately turn to our own birthday! I silently wish that I can write every day of my mission, so that one day, my own child can fan through the pages, find his birthday, and create a connection with his father. Thoughts such as these build our hope, and enlarge our perspective.
I love you all so, so, so much
Elder Bangerter
Happy Birthday Jay-boy!
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