One Transfer Down! -- July 29, 2014

Hey Everyone!

I have officially finished my first transfer! It’s been a hard one and a fun one as well. I have learned so much from my companion, Elder Lopez.  He is so awesome. He is the most obedient person I have ever met. He has so much charity and love for the mission; that’s one thing that I’m still trying to develop.  

I think the biggest thing I have learned from this transfer is to have courage. Having courage has made such a difference to me in being a missionary. It takes a lot of courage to not only talk to random people about the church or to try to convert people, but it also takes a lot of courage to simply get through the day as a missionary. In the Book of Mormon, there are countless recordings of prophets having courage and standing up for what they believe in. In the very first chapter of Alma, it talks about a man named Nehor. Nehor was evil and was doing a lot of bad things among the Nephites. While Nehor was going against the church and trying to convert others to believing in worldly things, a man named Gideon stood up against Nehor and told him that what he was doing is not according to the teachings of the Lord. Nehor being evil decided to slay Gideon with a sword for his actions and killed him. What I have learned from this is that we will be put in situations where we will have to stand up for what we believe in. This happens to missionaries all day every day. Even in the hardest situations we can have faith that the Lord will be with us and help us through everything.  As long as we are trying our best and asking to have the spirit to be in our lives and then being worthy to carry it, our Heavenly Father will bless us and use us to strengthen his kingdom. 

Transfers are this week and Elder Lopez is getting transferred. I will get a new companion on Wednesday and I will be taking over the area. I’m pretty nervous for this as I have only had six weeks of training, but I know the Lord does what is best for his children.  I’m really excited for my new companion; he used to be a zone leader so I’m sure I will learn a lot from him! 

I love this gospel and I’m so thankful for the happiness it brings to my life and to the lives of others. Thank you so much for all the support and all the prayers.  Keep praying for me please and keep sending letters; I love getting them! Have a great week and always remember to pray! 

Keep the faith,

-Elder Kaleb Bingham

Following Promptings -- July 21, 2014

Hey Everyone! 

This week was really good! We were able to find more people to teach and set up appointments for this week! It cooled down a lot here, thank goodness! It’s been in the 60s here and it has made tracting a whole lot better! It usually is really hot and humid all day and you feel like you are walking around in an oven! 

   

Elder Lopez and I had some really cool spiritual experiences this last week. We were tracting one afternoon and we were having no success at all. So after praying very hard, I got a prompting that we needed to go across town to a park by the river here. Elder Lopez didn't want to go to the park, but we ended up going. We got there and started talking to people that were walking along the river and we meet two families that might be interested in hearing more of our message, so it was awesome!  But I kept noticing a college kid that was following us around the park. He kept his distance, but he was kind of stalking us in a way. So we kept talking to everyone and when we were walking back to our car, the man met us there.  He asked us where we were going.  We then told him and he asked us if we could sit down and talk, so we did.  We went to a park bench and started talking to him. His name is Blake; he told us that he is a convert and he got baptized last year. He has been having a lot of troubles and is very sick with crohn’s disease. He told us he needed a blessing and there wasn’t anyone he knew in Radford that could do that for him.  He then told us that he was prompted to come to the park after he had been praying for help in his life. We were able to give him a blessing and share a good message about our Savior with him. It was so cool to see the Lord work through me and guide me to this man. It was an experience I will never forget. 

   

We still teach Jesse and his family.  They are all investigating now and we go over and see them about every other night.  We have grown very close with them. They have like a multi- generation household. Jesse, his sister Lois and her daughter Thae, and her kids sometimes stay there. We hopefully will be able to get them to church and be baptized. Jesse has treatments every day for his lung cancer and he also drives two hours away to the city of Roanoke to visit his wife in a nursing home. He loves listening to the Book of Mormon.  He is such a great guy and he tells us when he is healed and his life is less crazy and hard, he will come to church and be baptized. 

    

I’m starting to learn to love missionary work more and more. It’s hard, but it is getting easier through a lot of faith and a ton of prayer. Thanks so much for all of the encouragement and all the prayers. I love getting letters and all these emails.  I love you all and hope you have an awesome week!

Keep the FAITH, 

Elder Kaleb Bingham

My District--Love them!

Hotel California -- July 28, 2014

July 28, 2014

Hello Everyone!

Sorry this e-mail is late, we didn't have a p-day yesterday because we were just packing and traveling the 8 hour trek to Tacloban. 

I think leaving Catarman was the hardest thing I've ever done. The members were so cute! After attending the wedding of our investigators, we had a big Ward home evening on Saturday as my farewell party. It was a perfect day. I think it was one of the happiest days of my mission. It's weird. I don't feel like an American anymore. I really, truly, feel like I'm Filipino. It feels like I'm going to a foreign country again. I've just never imagined how much I would come to completely, unconditionally, love this country. I love everything about it. I'm proud of the Filipino flag. I love their language, and their traditions, and their culture, and their food, and their humor. It will always be a part of me. 

Something cool that my companion noticed this week is that in any Visayan language, there isn't a word that translates into "hate." Not one. You can say, "I don't love you." or, "I don't like you," but you can't say, "I hate you." I think that's such the culture of the Philippines. They don't hate. Their doors are always open to take in people that need help. Their hearts are always open to love. And even the way they greet each other is designed to convey caring. The worst insult you could ever say to a Filipino is to tell them you don't care about them. 

I've learned how to not care about money or material things here. I love how everyone is just always willing to help one another out. Not matter what. And even if a family is dirt poor, if their neighbor needs help financially, they will always give what they can. I think that's a good lesson for all of us. That was a good lesson for me.

The work this week was a perfect way to end my mission. I feel like I've done everything I was supposed to do in Catarman. I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I've had to serve there.

I went and tried to visit a certain less active family the other day. They are pretty poor, and you have to walk on a few really long pieces of bamboo to get to their house. Anyways, we got there, and sister came out to meet us. She explained to us that we couldn't come in their home because brother and his friends were drinking. We asked when we could come back, and she said she didn't know, because they are always drinking. She told us how they got baptized over 8 years ago, but then she told us a super long list of reasons why they couldn't come to church anymore. A big one being because neither of them really had a way to make money to get the money needed to take their 9 children there. As she was telling me all of this, their neighbor turned on their radio. The song, "Hotel California" was blasting. I was listening to the lyrics. "Plenty to do at the Hotel California. Such a lovely place, such a lovely place. da da da da da da but you can never leave."

I thought it was so ironic at how fitting the song related to this woman's situation. And then I realized something. I realized that that is Satan's greatest attack against us--to lure us into our own "Hotel California." Where we get distracted. Where our priorities become severely skewed. When we think our virtual reality on FB is more important than our eternal reality with our Heavenly Father. When we think that Grey's Anatomy is more important than our daily scripture feasting. I was just pondering at how sucked into a Hotel California I was before my mission. And if not anything, my mission has taught me to recognize those deadly traps. 

I will forever have an appreciation for my mission. I remember being in High school and judging people that kept ALL the commandments. I remember thinking, "Wow, what a goody good Mormon. What is she trying to prove." And now I want to go back and slap myself in the face and say, "Are you serious, Sister Bingham?! She has nothing to prove. Life isn't about proving to anyone anything. The only person you should be worried about pleasing is your Father in Heaven, and you should be thankful for this girl's example."  

I love this gospel with my whole soul. I love it because it helps people wake up. It helps them turn in their room keys to the pointless Hotel California’s that we've all checked our spirits into. It helps us awake from our deep testimonial hibernation, see ourselves as God sees us, and gives us the courage and motivation to fulfill our purposes in this short mortal life.

I was teaching a sweet less active recent convert whose 16, named Julietta the other day. We taught her about the plan of salvation. Halfway through, I felt prompted to ask her why she chose to come to this earth. She simply said, "I don't know sister. I can't remember. duh." Our lesson changed into just talking about the pre-mortal existence. It was a really spiritual lesson. 

Do we realize that every single person on this earth, not matter who you are, CHOSE to come here? Do we realize that we actually have a deep and personal relationship with our Savior, and our Father in Heaven, but we just can't remember? Do you realize that we all went through training to come to this earth? We all fought for our agency. We fought for our opportunity to learn, and to become perfect disciples. That we were given assignments, agreed to accomplish them, and agreed to take upon ourselves the name of our Savior in the previous life as well as this one? It dawned on me that I haven't been viewing myself as someone that was chosen by my Heavenly Father, as we all are, to come and help His other children come home. When we told sister Julietta that her Father in Heaven chose her, she started crying. And now she's going to seminary again. 

I hope that I can forever see people as Heavenly Father sees them. I hope I can maintain having the spirit with me always. I hope I can enjoy that companionship always. I will continue to read my scriptures every day, and uplift people, because I have learned what my purpose is on this earth. 

I know that my Savior lives. I'm happy to be one of his soldiers. I'm so blessed to have been given this opportunity to learn of him, to go through some of the things (in a very small degree) of what he suffered and went through, to wear his name, to represent him, to be made an instrument,  and been permitted to bring souls unto him. I'm so happy that I was given this opportunity to see this life for what it really is--to be taken away from my Hotel California, and to check out permanently.

I know that we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father, who loves us. He doesn't want us to judge one another, to fight, or to hate one another. He just wants us to learn how to love one another unconditionally. Every single one of us CAN go to the Celestial kingdom. 

My capacity to love has increased so much on my mission. I hope that you all feel how much I truly and unconditionally love each and every one of you. 

I love being a missionary. I'm a happy missionary. I will be proud to forever be a missionary and represent Him. I'm not perfect. By any means. But, it's okay. One day, with the help of my Savior's mercy and His atonement, I will be. 

In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior,  Amen.

Signing off for the last time,

Sister Bingham

 

In New York!

 

Waiting for Hillary to arrive!

 

And she's here!

He waited!!!

 

 

 

 

 

A final message:  Hillary, we are so proud of you!  You were an exemplary missionary.  You tried your hardest every day and you shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with many many people. We are so grateful for your service and the many blessings that we received as a family for your efforts.  You are such a great example to your siblings and we thank you for that also.  You have been converted yourself.  You understand what the atonement is and what the sacrifices that Jesus Christ made for us really mean. It's hard to believe that you went so far away, for such a long time, that you had such amazing experiences, and came home safe and sound and filled with such a wonderful testimony. You served a successful mission and we know that the mission will serve you as you go throughout your life. We have a testimony of Jesus Christ and know that this is his work and that he is pleased with your sacrifice. We love you with all of our hearts.

Mom and Dad

I'm a Pilgrim, I'm a Soldier -- July 20, 2014

July 20, 2014

Maupay nga aga tanan! 

This is so odd that this is my second to last e-mail as a missionary. It's ok. You can all just pretend like it's not happening like I do. Haha Just kidding.

Well, typhoon Glenda brought her rage. I don't know why I thought there wouldn't be another typhoon/natural disaster on my mission. It actually didn't do lots of damage to my area. The worst of it in my zone was in Allen. Those missionaries got temporarily pulled out. But they are back now. The worst that happened to us was that we didn't have electricity for a few days, or water. But it's ok. We have a well outside our house! So, everything was ok. 

Something cool happened. We had a giant tree in our backyard that fell. It should have smashed our roof in, but we didn't even hear it fall on our house. It was like it was lightly lowered. All of the sudden, there was a tree smashed up against our bedroom window! But there was absolutely no damage. Like it's such a heavy tree! We didn't even hear it land on our roof. So, that was a huge blessing!

There were some members in our ward that had their houses damaged and some destroyed. But, a cute returned member, Michelle, told a story in Relief society about her experience. She has just recently come back to church and started paying her tithing again. She lives in a small one room bamboo home, with 4 small children. She said that her kids were really worried that their roof was going to blow off, and they were crying. So, she helped them start to pray. And she prayed with her children that their house would be ok. After the storm, their neighbors' house, which is nicer than theirs, was completely destroyed, and theirs was untouched. I never really realized before my mission how much paying our tithing physically and spiritually protect us. 

After the typhoon, our president was trying to decide if our whole zone should get pulled out or not. So, we decided that if we were pulled out, we wanted to get all our investigators interviewed so they could still get baptized even if we weren't here. So, we had our district leader come and interview all our girls- 6 in all. It was Sheina's birthday, so we had a little surprise party for her while we were waiting for all the interviews to get done. It was so cute! I love those girls! 

As we were waiting, one of the girls, Jelli, asked me if I knew how to play the piano. I told her that I used to.... and she asked me to teach her how to play a song. I can only play like the top hand if there are no sharps or flats but I remember how to play twinkle twinkle little star, so that's what I taught her. I taught her what the notes were, how to read the music, how to put her hands on the keys..etc. And then she started practicing. It was the cutest thing! She messed up so many times, she would just say, "oops," then laugh, then start over again until we got it. 

In my personal study this week I have really been focusing on the Mercy and Grace of our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. I feel like that's how they see our lives. They give us the tools we need, then they let us practice. They intervene when we are stuck, and they help us keep going. I feel like the only thing that would disappoint them is if we just stopped practicing or trying (I know mom, I'm sorry I quit piano when I was 12. You were right, and I should have just kept practicing). 

I read a really cool scripture in Alma 34. Everyone knows that Christ saves us. But do we really understand what he saves us from? I know the first answer that came to my mind was sin. But, I learned that that isn't necessarily true. Christ saves us from Justice. If the punishment from Justice didn't exist, sinning wouldn't matter. Because he answered justice, we don't have to be punished. In verse 16 it says, 

"And thus mercy CAN satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of Justice; therefore only unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption.

17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;

18 Yeah, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save."

I testify that Christ is mighty to save us from Justice. One thing I learned in the Cebu mission from President Schmutz is that we, as humans, cannot justify our sins. I, Sister Bingham, can't justify my sins and shortcomings. I can't wish them away, or ignore them and pretend that they never happened, because Justice is fair. That's why it is justice. But, Because Christ literally paid for us. Because he literally took and suffered our punishments for us, only He can justify our sins. And his mercy acts as a force field so that justice has no claim on us. We can be humble, we can repent, and then HE can pretend like they never happened.

I was giving my farewell talk in my ward yesterday, and as I was speaking, this principle finally clicked in my head. Once it did, I just started crying and I couldn't stop. I love my Savior sooooooooooooooooooooooooo much! I can't express my gratitude for Him. And for soldering my punishments so that I don't have to experience the torments of a dammed soul.

I know that without Christ, we are fallen, hardened, and lost. We need him. Repentance is not scary. Repentance is necessary. I have loved helping people repent on my mission. I love seeing these sweet Filipino people cast their old selves away, and become changed through Christ. As His representative, I would like to take this opportunity to encourage those of you who may have given up practicing for a while, and take his hand, and try again. He loves you, and desires your salvation. I know that His atonement is infinite and eternal, and I know that it is sufficient to change us and forgive us.

I know this church is true with my whole soul.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Love forever,

Sister Bingham