Emotional Trauma

Hey Family!!!

How's everything going? It sounds like you had a great week, which is awesome to hear. It makes me happy! 

First off, I have a couple more favor's to ask.. man by the time I get home I will have asked for so many favor's that you'll never want another missionary to come home every again!! Sorry Bryce... haha just kidding. First: My eyes seem to be getting a tad bit worse, especially at night. Can you set up an eye appointment for me before I go to school? And a dentist appointment? It's been 18 months.. I'm long overdue. Thanks, you're the best!!!

Also, has Julia had her baby yet? And how's Taylor doing? He's been on my mind a lot lately.

So I'm going to start off this letter with my bad news. Last Monday after I emailed and everything we were driving back home and I went to change lanes, and apparently didn't check my blind spots as good as a thought I did because when I changed I swiped another car... Now before you get all worried, no one was hurt, I was just really shaken up. Because um, hello, when you hit another car it kind of rattles you. I just made a scrape on the side of the other car, and a little dent and a couple scratches (not bad at all) on the front of our car by the left tire. But we just exchanged info with the other car and then I got to call our vehicle coordinator and work everything out. I also had to call President, and he took away my driving privileges... because on the mission when you get in an accident, your privledges get yanked. So thus began our crazy week. I was an EMOTIONAL WRECK!! and super depressed for a couple days because I did something super dumb, and my companion was stressed because now she has to learn to drive on CA roads, and she does't have a ton of experience... but now we're doing good. We're going to have to bike for a couple days when our car goes in to get fixed, but other than that we're good. The church insurance is taking care of everything and my brain is a lot more calm. But it was really rough. Needless to say, I cried... a lot. And I still feel bad. But I've learned my lesson, and next time I drive, I'll be checking my blind spots WAY better than I ever have in my life. 

In other news, I got my trunky papers (flight plans) on Saturday!! Looks like I'll be leaving here at 10:15 am and getting to SLC at 1:09. Get ready Utah, I'm coming home! But not for 3 weeks, so don't get ready too fast. :) You should be so proud, I didn't even cry when I looked at them. :)

Even amidst the crazy we still saw a ton of miracles this week. We found 4 new investigators (not nearly as high as Bryce's 21, but good for us!) and taught 20 lessons this week. WE HIT STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were so excited. We busted our butts though. It was so much fun. We also have started sharing a Thanksgiving message with everyone, and it has made me realize how much I have to be grateful for. We've been watching "In the Spirit of Thanksgiving" the mormon message, and it just reminds me of all the good in this world. I have so much. I have a family that loves me, I have amazing friends, I have a roof over my head and clothes to keep me warm. I have a great companion, I have so much! But most important, is that I have the gospel. I know that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me more than I can comprehend. I know I have a brother, Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for me so that I can be clean, and gain eternal life. And there are SO many people that don't know that. So this Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to share my knowledge with all those around me, and help others come unto Christ. 

I love you all so much. I hope you have a great Thanksgiving. Just know that you're always in my prayers, and that I'm grateful for each and every one of you. I love you!

Love,

Hermana Bingham

Sister Buys, first day on the road. This is what she was really feeling. :)

This is where we filled up Saturday night. If gas prices look like this in the CA bay area,
what are they like in Utah?!?! haha

Hey Family!

HOLY COW, IT SNOWED!?!?!?!? I'm going to die!!! It's been like 60 degrees here and I"m already freezing to death. What is wrong with me? As I type this my hands feel like ice cubes, as well as my toes. I think I"m going to die. Literally. Bring something to keep me warm to the airport okay?

First off, to answer some questions, Hermana Boyd is going to go to UVU, but she did before the mission too, and she's fine with driving. In fact I think she wanted to live at the south end of BYU if I"m not mistaken. She has a plan. No worries. :)

Second, thanks dad for all your hard work with my classes!!! I just dropped one, so now I have all the classes I want, and a near perfect schedule! The one problem is that night class, but there isn't another option for that one, so I'll just deal with it. haha. But thanks so much. I really appreciate it. 

So this week was incredible! Different for sure, because we went from having 4 sisters in our apartment to just 2. Hermana Buys and me. Alone. So it's weird, a little empty, but it's fun. But I really miss Hermana Boyd and Hermana Fuentes. Good news is, we'll all be in Utah together! We just have to go to temple square to see Hermana Fuentes. But now there are elders in the Sister's old area. Elder Rich, who goes home to Las Vegas at the same time as me, Elder Prince, and their trainee, Elder Wilson. So we have 7 missionaries in the ward now, which is NUTS! But it's super fun. Also, Elder Magana's new companion (other elders in our ward) is Elder Barlow, who just happens to know Alex Minson, because Alex served in his ward at the beginning of his mission! Small world right?!?

But the reason that this week was so great, was that on Saturday we got to go up to the Tri-stake center next to the Oakland temple to have a combined meeting with our entire mission and the entire Oakland/San Francisco mission to listen to Elder Bednar. He came to do a fireside for the 50 year anniversary of the Oakland temple. And holy cow, that missionary meeting was so incredible. 550 full time missionaries, our mission presidents, Elder Packer, our area 70 and his wife, and Elder and Sister Bednar. It was incredible. But he didn't just speak to us. WE had a giant discussion. He asked us to study 3 talks before hand, and we just talked about them all. Then he gave us time to ask him questions, and it was so incredible. But it was so much information! He told us we weren't allowed to write down anything that was said, only what we felt. And after looking over my notes serveral times, I have come to the conclusion that what I learned most was about being an agent, not an object. 

Now let me explain what I mean by that. We have all been given the gift of agency. That is the freedom to ACT. Well, duh Hermana Bingham, we've all known that since we were 3. But here's the catch. How man times to we go into a meeting, learn lots of good stuff, but then not do anything about it. How many times do we actually act on what we've learned. Or when we pray for blessings, do we actually go out an act so that we receive those blessings? It's really cool. I realized that most of my life, I've been an object. I've been acted upon. I'll go to meetings, and people will say things.. I'm being acted upon. But until I do something about it, I'll still be an object, not an agent. I don't know if that makes any sense. But something that helps clarify it are "Ask in Faith," "Seek Learning by Faith," "Converted unto the Lord" all by E. Bednar, and "Free Forever, to Act for Themselves," By E. Christofferson from this last conference. Read them or listen to them, they are all incredible talks on how we can be agents, rather than objects. 

I love you all. I hope you have a fantastic week! You're always in my prayers! Love you!

Love,

Hermana Bingham

 Google bikes! Doing service on google campus. :)

The new elders, eating the Chilean food that our member made for the Chilean... but she got transferred. :(

Hermana Buys and I with the view of the SF bay from the visitors center at the temple

Us and the temple

Isn't it beautiful?

Expectations

**This actually arrived on November 4th. I was just delinquent in posting it. Sorry!

Hello family!!! 

Wow, Bryce is on his way to Argentina! Or is he already there now? Who knows! That's so cool! I'm so excited for him. I hope you made it there safely kid, and let us know how you're doing! Write me! 

Charlie is also home now, as you've probably all noticed. It's weird. For me, it just kind of tells me how close my time is. I've only got 6 weeks. It's crazy! I promise I'm not trunky or anything, but with Hermana Boyd headed home, and Charlie just got home, and Bryce on his way to Argentina, time is just a very real thing for me. 

Thanks for helping me with classes everyone! It looks like a great schedule. I emailed dad with a fix suggestion he asked for. I would do it, but if he can get me the best professor available at that time, I would appreciate it. Hopefully I can get into the classes I'm on the waitlist for... That would make class life awesome! If I only had one class on Tuesday, and one class on Thursday I would die. It would be so great! But anyways, thanks for your help! I appreciate it a lot. 

I didn't email yesterday because we went to Santa Cruz! It was a blast. It was a much needed p-day, and a much needed trip to the beach because this week was a little stressful. We found out that our Bishop doesn't think we're working hard because we honestly haven't been hitting standards of excellence lately. We've be getting lower numbers, but the quality has been great, and we're working our rear ends off. so that was frustrating. And our WML (Ward mission leader) wants us to shoot to get 30 lessons (not realistic at all right now) and keeps trying to get us to go tracting. Which we will get sent home if we do. It's really hard to work with, but we're trying. It's just been a little bit stressful. But one thing I've learned it that we are accountable to the Lord, and He is the only one that matters. If we're doing good in His eyes, then we're okay. I'm really grateful for that. Over the course of my mission I've really learned the importance of accountability. It's so important to be accountable to the Lord for what we do each day. And I know that as I apply that more and more, I see more and more how proud He is of what I"m doing. It's incredible. 

Thanks so much for all your love and support. I hope you have a great week. I love you all!

Love,

Hermana Bingham

Roomies

Pizza My Heart for lunch! Yum!!

Santa Cruz!

Halloween lunch

Me and Hermana Buys

Hermanas Fuentes and Boyd

Roomies with scary teeth

Halloween lunch with Sister Haight!! (Bishop's wife)

Hermanas Fuentes and Boyd

Last p-day. Picnic at a part. That water is the edge or the San Francisco Bay. :)

Cute old fence

LIFE IS NUTS!!!

Hey family!

Oh my goodness! Kyla is 14, Lauren is home, Bryce is going to Argentina soon... LIFE IS NUTS!! That's so awesome. Also, Charlie gets home this Thursday. Isn't that crazy! Time flies. And I only have 7 weeks left. AHHHH! There isn't enough time! 

Thanks for calling the counselor mom. I wish they would've been more helpful, because the classes on the map some of them I've already taken, and some of them I can't take until I've been accepted into the program. So the map doesn't really help me a super ton right now. But we'll work on it. And yeah, if you can call someone about the spanish class and religion, that would be awesome. I would love to take the 2nd half of the Book of Mormon, and that spanish class. I need to take my Civ 1 GE credit... but I'm not sure what class sounds the most interesting. But yeah. My class registration date is Nov. 3rd starting at midnight. We're probably going to Santa Cruz that day so I won't be emailing or on the computer. Which means I'm going to need you to register for me. Is that okay? I could do it on the Tuesday, but it will be better if we can get it done before then. That way I can get better class times and stuff. You can go on mybyu and look at the class schedules and figure something out ahead of time. my username is ****** and the password is my usual. I don't know. It's stressing me out a bit. If you have questions, shoot me a letter this week. Ahhh school! I just don't know what to do!

But in other news, it's been a great week. I got the package. Thanks so much! I loved it! Also, we set a baptismal date with Andres this week. He will get baptized the same day as his daughter on Dec 6th. I'm super excited! It was a huge blessing because this week I have been super stressed out about school, finding a job... and then there is the missionary stuff too. We haven't been hitting our goals or standards of excellence, investigators aren't progressing, no one wants to talk to us, and it's just been a little disheartening. But we met with Andres yesterday and he told us that he decided to get baptized on Dec 6th, and then later we met with Amada and she told us that she and Bernardo are going to the temple to do baptisms for the dead this week! So it was a really big blessing to know that we are doing okay, and that the Lord is still blessing us with miracles. 

Thanks so much for all your love and support. I love you all, and I hope you have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Bingham

Carving pumpkins!

Us with our pumpkins!

Making homemade ice cream!

Ward trunk-or-treat

me with some of the girls from the ward!

a member brought his 4 wheeler and took us on a ride!

It started to rain while we were on our ride!

more pics from the ride!

Us with our crazy suckers!

The elders brought us ice cream! And Jesus!

Hermana Boyd really is enjoying the giant rice krispy treat! :)

Mission Conference

Hey family!!

How is everyone? It sounds like you've had a pretty awesome week, so that's great! I"m glad you had fun at Cornbelly's. I've never actually been to that one, so I might have to give it a try next year. :) If you want another good one, Castle of Chaos in Orem is really good. It's worth the money. :) I"m glad you all enjoyed your fall break this week though!

Also, Happy Birthday Kyla! I know it's not until Saturday, but I can't believe you're turning 14! That's nuts! I hope you have an awesome birthday. 

So I bet you're all wondering why I'm emailing today instead of yesterday. Well, it's because yesterday we had a mission conference with Elder Pino of the seventy. So it took up from about 9 to 4, so they moved our pday until today. But it was a really great meeting that was really inspiring! He talked a lot about our calling and our purpose as missionaries, and it was a really good reminder. It really made me want to work even harder. But it did stress me out just a little bit, because we're already having a hard time meeting standards of excellence (20 lessons a week, and 140 contacts) and doing our hour of training every day and an hour of language study, and service. I don't know how to balance everything out. Everything we're doing is what we need to be doing, but we can't fit it all in! There isn't enough time! So basically, a lack of time is stressing me out. But I know that if I council with the Lord in this, that He will help me to know what to do. That is something that I really have learned. As we put our complete trust in the Lord, He will ALWAYS guide us to do what we need to do. Always. He never leaves us alone, or leads us astray. 

Yesterday Sister Mella also talked about the spirit. She talked about how we can have the spirit more in our lives/what keeps us from feeling the spirit, and she talked a lot about comparing ourselves. I struggle with that sometimes. I feel like I'm not doing as well as everyone else, so therefore I"m not good enough. But she taught us that when we do that we are 1. giving into Satan, and 2, not allowing the spirit to be in our lives! It thought it was a really interesting spin on things, and so that's what I'm going to work on this week! I"m really excited to see how it goes. 

I love you all, and I hope you have a great week. Thanks for all you do! 

Love you lots,

Hermana Bingham

We made carmel apples!

After our RS Zumba activity!

Milkshakes to celebrate hermana Boyd's 17 month mark, 

and hermana Buys' 2 month mark!

our home entertainment system for movie nights. :)

Mission conference yesterday. 

Hermana Quintana and I matched almost perfectly. By accident!

Hermana Raney and I

Mini golf for pday last week!

Hmmm... :)

Things That Matter Most

Dear family,

It sounds like y'all had a  great week! I'm excited to see the new car! But I'll be okay waiting for a while. :) Jayson, you looked super good at homecoming. I loved the pictures.

As for SD card, I have a DANE-ELEC card, that's 8GB. It's blue with a red and white stickers. If that doesn't help, I can just go look for one. :) But thanks so much! I'm excited for the package. It also sounds like Bryce is doing really good! That makes me happy! 

This week was a really good week. We got to watch the new Meet the Mormons movie! Have you seen it yet? Aee you going to see it? It was fantastic. I was so inspired by it! It dives into the lives of 6 Mormon families from all over the world, and just shares who they are. I love it. It's really well done, and super fantastic. If you haven't seen it yet, go see it this week! It's incredible!!!! We also got to go to the temple. I got to see the 3rd new video this time, with blonde Eve. That threw me off for a minute, but it was fine! I liked it, but I still think I like the first one better. But it's been 6 months, so I can't really remember. Now I just need to see the 2nd one and I'm good! but it was amazing. I just love the temple so much. I literally feel homesick when I leave, and I want to go back. But it made me excited to think that I don't have to wait 6 months to go again! Woohoo! 

Speaking of temples, I just want to tell you all that Myley and Mathias are engaged!! The big day is January 2nd. I'm just so excited and happy for her, I want to brag to the whole world! 

Also, we found out this week that in November we will start receiving training for Facebook proselyting and iPads. So that is super exciting. We'll get more info in November, and start using it all. So I'll be back on facebook for like a month before I get home. That will be fun! :) I'm excited for it all. It will be really different, but it will be good! 

This week I've had to really focus on the things that matter most. https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-06-012-moments-that-matter-most?lang=eng This video is a Mormon message that really helps me when I'm struggling. A lot of times, I feel like I get caught up in the little things. Like for example, I get caught up in the fact that we have too many things to do, and not enough time in the day. I get caught up in trying to make everything perfect for my trainee, when I really should just focus on teaching by the spirit. Little things like that. I know that when we focus on the things that matter most, we truly will be led by the spirit, and really  come to know our Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ better. I challenge you all to really focus on the things that matter most this week. It will help so much. I promise!

Sorry this letter is short, I had a lot of letters to read this week. A lot. :) suddenly I'm popular! Just kididng. But I love you all, and I hope you have a great week. I love you!!

Love,

Hermana Bingham

P.s. Our goal was to take a picture a day this week. :) Also, I like to match my companion. :)

matching!

on the roof of the temple

Roomies! Hermanas Boyd, Fuentes, Bingham, Buys

Ice cream!!

last night. We just happened to have the same color of blazer. :)

in front of the fountain

Hermana Buys and I

Training

Dear family,

This week has been amazing! I got my baby, general conference was awesome.. basically that was it. It was super fun. Kyla, that drawing is incredible! I love it so much! Good work! And it was super good to hear from you Bryce. Thanks for keeping us posted! 

My nena's (another word for baby) name is Hermana Buys! She is from Eagle Mountain, UT, is 19 years old, went to the Mexico MTC, and is AMAZING!! I love her. She's a wonderful missionary, and a really hard worker. I feel super blessed and privileged to be able to work with her. It's been interesting adjusting our schedule to training demands, but it's been super fun. We're learning together, and having a blast. She likes music, and food, and we have really similar personalities so we get along great. She's allergic to gluten and nuts, so it's a good thing we're in the Spanish program! We just eat a lot of corn flour! I love her to death!

Conference was amazing wasn't it? I LOVED IT! It's always so good, but I really liked how they talked this time about prophets and gaining our own testimonies of the things that they talked about in conference. I thought it was really interesting. I feel like especially in the Sunday morning session, every single talk was about prophets. It was really cool. That is something the world really needs, and it's going to give us a lot of good tools to use with our investigators. Woohoo! I feel so spiritually recharged after conference, it's so great. The hard part is that with doing training, and having conference, and not being in my area for two days while I was waiting for baby, our numbers were shot. But that's okay. We'll make it up this week. 

Our temple day got moved back so we'll be headed to the temple this week. We also get to watch Meet the Mormons this Thursday morning, so I'm super excited. I've heard how awesome it is. Speaking of Meet the Mormons, you can go to meetthemormons.com/glorious and download a free song. It's an EFY song, but in this version they have David Archuleta singing it, and I love it. So if you want to send me the soundtrack for that movie, or that song, I would probably die with joy. :) Also, I'm in need of a new memory card for my camera. I'm just about out of space and I don't think It's going to last. Can you send me one? Oh, and am I supposed to be getting that reunion shirt? Grandma A said something about it right after the reunion but I haven't seen one. Just let me know. :)

I just want you to know how grateful I am for you. I love you all so much, and I'm really grateful to have you in my life. Thank you for all the support and love that you always send me. You're all the best. 

I hope you have a fantastic week! Don't forget to go back and study the conference talks and apply what was said in your lives! I know I have a lot of work to do, and I'm super excited to be able to go back and study more! I love you all! Have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Bingham

This is our ward photo from a month ago. Funny picture

 Serious picture

 I was in a trio with Boyd and Fuentes for 2 days while I waited for my baby!

 Day 1 with baby!

Our first Sunday together!