Week 37

Hello from the Philippines!!!
     So it's transfer week already, but Elder Kaufusi and I are still both here in Teresa, so no changes there. The week has been pretty good though. I'm glad I get to stay here for another transfer. 
     When I say the week was good, I mean that in the sense that every week is good because I'm out here serving the Lord. There were some parts that were better than others though. First some back story.....
   So here in Teresa we used to have a special sacrament service for an area here that's pretty far. Then there were some changes that the ward wanted to make and that was discontinued. Now, for all the members up there, there's a service van that our stake president lets the ward use to go get the members so they can also receive the experiences and blessings of regular church attendance. Plus we can get anyone we're teaching to come with also. Well this has been going on for the past 3ish weeks and of course there were some kinks to straighten out and problems that had to be solved. This past week though everything on our part seemed to be going smooth and we did all we could to provide a way. And you know what happens? Well I'll tell you in a line from a song, just imagine me singing it.... "When you try your best and you don't succeeeeeeeeeed......." yeah, that about sums it up. Basically we went there to pick up the people that should be waiting there and there was only 2 people. And they were the primary kids. They're the rock stars of the group, let me tell you. So I guess the lesson here is that people will always have their agency, and that in the end it's a classic 2 Nephi 2:27 situation. The cherry on top though is that the van started having problems on the way to the church, so we ended up sending the family of brother Abiog (ward mission leader) and the other members we got on a tricycle. Then we spent a couple hours with brother Abiog and the van, limping our way to the church. Turns out that even though we added gas, there wasn't enough in the tank for it to get sucked into the engine, so at least it was an easy fix. 
     But even after all this, I just want to testify of the Tender Mercies of the Lord; I got some packages right after all this that Elder and Sister Bills brought from the office. They were filled with a little bit of heaven that my family sent for my birthday. They couldn't have arrived at a better time.
     I know that it's easy to get down when things don't go how they're planned or how we think they should. Trust me, I know. But I also know that God has a perfect plan for us. He provided a way for us to return to him. I know as we submit to the will of the father that we will never be led astray. We will become who He intended us to be.
     Anyways, I hope everyone is doing good wherever they are right now. Stay faithful and don't forget what's important.

   Elder Banister

   And here's a little something for the good old scrollers

Week 5

Hi Mom
It's been a good week. 2 hour church was weird, but I liked it of course. We were able to have some of our investigators come and that was cool. We taught some kids this week: Kevin, JR, Jan-Jan, Krika, and Rosalin. It was pretty fun to teach them. They live by the creek in houses smaller than a bedroom but they're all happy people. I kind of wish we could go live there to see what it's like, but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't let us. But it's alright. I got your packages too, Elder Canaya was super happy. We get along great, I've been lucky so far in the mission with Companions. I ate the "Wunder Bar" that dad sent and wish I had more haha. Tell Tayla thanks for all her bracelets too. I'll have to save all the Christmas stuff for next year though. I don't know what to say about the food, it's pretty good. Lots of rice for sure. I ate chicken feet for the first time this week, that was new. There's also this soup stuff that's basically vinegar and lime juice too that I drink at this place we like to eat. It's super gross and I just chug it fast so I can get it over with. It's cool that you get to speak in stake conference, I'm sure you'll give an amazing talk. I don't know what to say about gathering Israel. Just that it's happening now and it's something everyone can be a part of. Hopefully you can see the pictures now, if not then I'll have to put them on a different drive and you can just log into that drive. We went biking today as a district and it was fun to bike again. Hopefully everything at home is good, I miss and love you all. 

Elder Banister 2

MTC Week 6-last week!!

Hi mom. Tagalog is going good, I've learned a lot but there's still a lot to learn. Should be interesting to be thrown into it. The past week has flown by super fast. I'm pretty excited to get out of here, it's gotten smaller every day. We'll see how this flying business is. Hopefully it's not too bad. Hannah looks so cute! She'll probably be walking and talking when I get back. That's awesome. I got TWO super awesome packages this week. The first was from Kerri. You saw the video when her friend Mindy gave it to me. It had 1400 ORANGE TIC TACS! And some awesome pens that I can use in my scriptures that don't bleed through. That was awesome. Plus the Mountain Dew you sent in your package were super good. Almost as good as green label. I still have like 12 left, but I can make those disappear pretty fast. The Christmas Crack will be gone today too, of course. I'm just a little sick this week, tis the season. No snow yet, but it's been raining pretty hard the last few nights. I'm excited about the next week. Big changes from here I'm sure. One thing that we've been working on this week as a district is virtue. It actually helps a lot. Just staying focused and having making sure I only have good thoughts has made the week go so much smoother. Hope Everyone is doing good, I miss you all.

Love Elder Banister 2