Week 56

 Been a good week! 2019 is almost gone, and the legendary year of 2020 will begin. SUPER EXCITED!!! But a few things that have happened this week

     Church was great, we had a combined lesson for second hour. Bishop Espi taught and while he was teaching he was asking about a group in the Book of Mormon that was changed by the Gospel. Then a sister gets up and starts going OFF on a rant about everything under the sun, and the next thing we know, she starts SINGING. She sings this Tagalog song for a solid 5 minutes and at that point, we are struggling to contain our laughter; in other words, we were dying. It's a good thing we weren't too close to the front, that would have been bad. Oh the things you see on the mission. 

     All our friends we are teaching are doing pretty good. Sister Saludaga is doing amazing and still reading the Book of Mormon, she is up to Second Nephi now. We taught her "partner" yesterday and he was also super awesome, we are eager to find out more about their situation to see what the next steps to her conversion are. Sister Katherine is doing pretty good, she has been busy lately with the holidays, but is still letting us come to her. Hopefully after the new year everything calms down and we get on a good roll again. Anyways... next week will be a better email. Promise. That's all for this week!

     Elder Banister

Week 55

 Hello from the Philippines!!! My goodness, what a monumental week, I have done what I never thought I would get to do: I tried some scooby snacks, if you know what I mean. Now right off the bat, I'm sure there are some of you reading this that are thinking "yOu MonStEr, HoW couLd you dO ThaT?!?!" Well, if it makes you feel better, I had two plates, sooo... oh wait, that would make things worse..... The point is it's done and there's no going back. Also had some balot to go with it, which goes down a lot easier than it used to.

     We had an awesome Christmas party with the ward and had a lot of the people we are teaching come. 

     Just excited for this week where we especially remember the birth and life of our Saviour Jesus Christ. He lives. He loves us. I hope we can all remember Him past the 25th of December and throughout the year. Just a few of my favorite scriptures about Him. The first is 2 Nephi 17:14 and the second is 2 Nephi 19:6 (also found in Isaiah). But the second is 6 For unto us a achild is born, unto us a son is given; and the bgovernment shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The cMighty God, The dEverlasting Father, The Prince of ePeace. 

     Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! Next week I might have a few pictures.

     Elder Banister

Week 54

 Hello from the Philippines!!!

     Wow, what a crazy week, let's start with the good stuff. First of all, the Giving Machine was awesome, even though the mall wasn't super busy on Monday. Super glad I got to go and do that. Felt like a couple of province boys going to the big city. And one of the best parts was we got to go eat at Taco Bell. You know you haven't had American food in a while when you get excited about Taco Bell. But anyways, that was good. We also got to do service this past week, that was awesome. There was this little lot with about 20 Banana trees and we went with my machete and cleaned it out. One of the most satisfying things is taking a swing at a banana tree and getting a nice clean slice right through it. We also got to release some of our... built up tension by chucking the chunks of tree to the side. I love missionary work, but I sure do miss work like that, so it was a nice break. I also got some christmas gifts from my family!!! My goodness, there was some awesome stuff in there, my favorites are probably this little book called the Missionary Pal and the most American pen that I have ever seen. I only use it for special occasions.

     We also are in the middle of a miracle with one of the people we are teaching right now. Her name is sister Saludaga. So we have taught her four times so far, and she has been reading the Book of Mormon, which is vital in conversion. This past visit she opened up to us a little bit. She told us that her father had passed away, and a few weeks before we met her, she prayed to God to help her faith become stronger in Him. Then we showed up. I know this work is true. Those seeking to come closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will find no better way than living the Restored Gospel. This upcoming year we should do all we can to stand as close to Christ as possible. Anyways, that was the week in a nutshell, hope everyone has a good week!

     Elder Banister

Oh yeah, we also did some face mask things...

Week 53

 Been a good week in the Philippines!

   Gonna have to keep it short, we get to go run the Giving Machine for Light the World later today!!! Super excited, but we just found out this morning, so we've been adjusting our plans..... Some things that were super awesome this week was we went and cleaned Catherine's house! It was a huge success, and we were just glad to be able to help her in any way we could. She also came to church again this past week and had a super great lesson about trials, which her life has been full of. She's doing great. We also had another friend come to church for the first time, tatay Bong! He also had a good time and is excited to come back next week. The Typhoon didn't hit us, and we just got some rain, which was a..... Blessing to us all. But that was our highlight this week, we have an exciting week coming up and I'll tell all about it next week! Thank you all for your love and support! And for everyone that prayed the storm wouldn't come... thank you also..... Sorry it's short, but next week na lang!

     Elder Banister

Week 52

 Hello from the Philippines!

     So there was a typhoon coming our way, but while I was talking to my family we got a text that it's not coming towards us anymore. So..... that's good. Great. Fantastic. But it's been a good week, nothing super crazy, except for a MIRACLE!!! We got our friend Catherine to church this past week! We met her while we were visiting a recent convert on Wednesday, and asked if we could share with her. So we shared about the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. She was awesome, and even let us come back! The next visit was on Friday, and we shared a bit about the Plan of Salvation and our life here on earth. She poured her heart out to us and shared a little about her life and the struggle she's had so far. Then she was able to make it to church on Sunday!!! This is the start of her journey in accepting the Gospel, and we are super excited to help her along the way. This is what the Gospel is all about; changing lives and bringing others unto their Savior Jesus Christ. And what a time to do it! With Christmas right around the corner, we should all strive to emulate the light of Christ to others. Just uplift where you can, and the world will be filled with the light of Christ. That's all for the week, I would send pictures, but the computer is sPecIAl. Love you all!

     Elder Banister