Week 1 (9/28/17)
Puede ako magIngles?
Hey all! It's been an insanely amazing first week here at the MTC! The moment I was dropped off and put my suitcases in my room, I was shown to my classroom where my teachers immediately began speaking Ilonggo and I had no idea what was happening. I did get my feet back under me and it's crazy how much Ilonggo I have learned in just one week! We try to speak it as often as we can outside of class. In class, we have to ask permission (puede ako magIngles) to speak English. The second day we began teaching an "investigator" and at first, I thought that was impossible. WE HAD ONLY LEARNED THE LANGUAGE FOR A DAY. Thankfully, the Spirit was with us and has continued to help us learn Hiligaynon (ili-guy-nan) and teach our "investigator." By the second day, I could introduce myself and ask/answer basic questions. By the third, I could pray entirely in Ilonggo. By the fourth, I could bear my testimony in Ilonggo. And it just keeps going!
I will be in the MTC for 6 weeks. 5 weeks now. Then I will be in the Manila MTC for almost a week before heading to Bacolod
My companion is Sister Hostetter from Colorado and she is amazing! We get along great and love to laugh as we stumble over our broken Illonggo sentences. Our district is comprised of us, Sister Burkhardt & Sister Clarke, Elder Yancey & Elder Keller, Elder Harmon & Elder Baldwin. (See pictures attached). I love this district so much and I know without them it would be much harder to adjust. We laugh together, learn together, make mistakes together, eat together, etc. We are the only district in the whole MTC that speaks Ilonggo! We are all going to Bacolod (Bach-o-lode) except Elder Harmon and Elder Baldwin who are going to Ilo Ilo.
My district has agreed to Twinning Tuesday where we all wear the same color. We actually did this the first couple days (see red day in picture).
We are all very excited to serve the people of the Philippines! We try to obey all rules and schedules with exactness. We try to help each other learn and practice Ilonggo. We love to play four-square during exercise. We LOVE to laugh together. And we LOVE to pray, learn, and feel the Spirit together.
The Spirit that exists here is truly remarkable. I have never felt such a strong feeling of peace and true joy for such a long time, but ever since I got here that feeling has never left. On Sunday, after devotional, we watched a talk Elder Bednar gave to the MTC years ago. It is called the Character of Christ and to my knowledge they only show it at the MTC. But IT WAS SO POWERFUL! I wish I could repeat his whole talk but for the sake of time I will give you the main message: When the natural man in us would turn inwards, Christ turns out. There are tons of examples but one I really liked was that when Christ had suffered the Atonement and bled from every pore, he came out of the Gethsamane to find his apostles asleep. Then one of his apostles betrayed Him. Wouldn't it be normal to feel upset? Christ suffered for every human being's sins and sorrows and his apostles couldn't stay awake and He was betrayed! But Christ didn't turn inwards. When Peter cut off the ear of one of the guards who came to take Christ away, Christ healed his ear and went with them. When we would turn inwards, Christ turns out.
Our Branch President told us that one of the current Philippine Mission Presidents was one of the original 100 members of the church in the Philippines. Today, so in his lifetime, there are over 700,000! He told us that the Filipino people love their Savior, Jesus Christ and are eager to learn more about Him and come closer to Him. I know that Christ loves and knows each of us, individually, personally. I know that if you turn towards Him, he will lift you up and strengthen you as you go through the storms of life.
Remember God loves and knows all of you! And so do I!
Sister Bingham
Hey all! It's been an insanely amazing first week here at the MTC! The moment I was dropped off and put my suitcases in my room, I was shown to my classroom where my teachers immediately began speaking Ilonggo and I had no idea what was happening. I did get my feet back under me and it's crazy how much Ilonggo I have learned in just one week! We try to speak it as often as we can outside of class. In class, we have to ask permission (puede ako magIngles) to speak English. The second day we began teaching an "investigator" and at first, I thought that was impossible. WE HAD ONLY LEARNED THE LANGUAGE FOR A DAY. Thankfully, the Spirit was with us and has continued to help us learn Hiligaynon (ili-guy-nan) and teach our "investigator." By the second day, I could introduce myself and ask/answer basic questions. By the third, I could pray entirely in Ilonggo. By the fourth, I could bear my testimony in Ilonggo. And it just keeps going!
I will be in the MTC for 6 weeks. 5 weeks now. Then I will be in the Manila MTC for almost a week before heading to Bacolod
My district has agreed to Twinning Tuesday where we all wear the same color. We actually did this the first couple days (see red day in picture).
We are all very excited to serve the people of the Philippines! We try to obey all rules and schedules with exactness. We try to help each other learn and practice Ilonggo. We love to play four-square during exercise. We LOVE to laugh together. And we LOVE to pray, learn, and feel the Spirit together.
The Spirit that exists here is truly remarkable. I have never felt such a strong feeling of peace and true joy for such a long time, but ever since I got here that feeling has never left. On Sunday, after devotional, we watched a talk Elder Bednar gave to the MTC years ago. It is called the Character of Christ and to my knowledge they only show it at the MTC. But IT WAS SO POWERFUL! I wish I could repeat his whole talk but for the sake of time I will give you the main message: When the natural man in us would turn inwards, Christ turns out. There are tons of examples but one I really liked was that when Christ had suffered the Atonement and bled from every pore, he came out of the Gethsamane to find his apostles asleep. Then one of his apostles betrayed Him. Wouldn't it be normal to feel upset? Christ suffered for every human being's sins and sorrows and his apostles couldn't stay awake and He was betrayed! But Christ didn't turn inwards. When Peter cut off the ear of one of the guards who came to take Christ away, Christ healed his ear and went with them. When we would turn inwards, Christ turns out.
Our Branch President told us that one of the current Philippine Mission Presidents was one of the original 100 members of the church in the Philippines. Today, so in his lifetime, there are over 700,000! He told us that the Filipino people love their Savior, Jesus Christ and are eager to learn more about Him and come closer to Him. I know that Christ loves and knows each of us, individually, personally. I know that if you turn towards Him, he will lift you up and strengthen you as you go through the storms of life.
Remember God loves and knows all of you! And so do I!
Sister Bingham
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