Until We Meet Again West Virginia Charleston Mission-- June 8, 2016

Hello Everyone,

Well this is it, my last email as a missionary. . .  I have been so blessed to see so many great miracles at the end of my missionary service; this is the greatest one of all!

Brother Kenny Pauley was able to get baptized this last week. A brief conversion story for brother Pauley: he was taught by missionaries fifteen years ago, close to Washington DC. He almost got baptized there, but failed at living the Word of Wisdom. He was super close at the time, he even went to the DC temple and toured the visitor’s center with the missionaries, but then soon lost contact with them after he felt like he could not succeed in the gospel. Well fast forward fifteen years later in little Richlands, Virginia. Kenny saw us from outside his trailer and was thrilled! He came out and stopped us and we pretty much picked up where the last missionaries left off. The previous Sunday, we had fasted for a miracle and we received one! After teaching him multiple times in the first week, being brief with every lesson, Kenny committed to being baptized just one month after he was found and this time nothing got in his way! 

It was a great service and he had a lot of support from the branch that was very much needed. He asked me to perform the ordinance, which I was honored to do. Before we went back to the font, we walked past a window and outside it was storming, in fact it was raining so hard Brother Pauley said maybe we should just walk outside and do this. Well, we went down into the font and came back out after he was baptized and looked out the same window and it was clear and the birds were out singing! Brother Pauley took it as a sign and he was very happy and really feeling the spirit. He got confirmed the next day in sacrament meeting and that was a good day! The biggest miracle of all came after all was said and done. We took brother Pauley to start doing his family history and once we got rolling with it, we discovered that someone had done almost all the work on his dad’s side of the family and all that was needed to be done was the actual temple work. Through one man repenting of his sins and being baptized, it brought hundreds of precious souls that have been waiting to have someone do their work. To see what the Lord has done! To think this whole process started out with a simple fast of my companion and I that we could find someone who would be ready to be baptized. I am so thankful that we were worthy of such a blessing. Brother Pauley was found and baptized in just thirty days. Miracles do exist. God loves his children, Kenny was prepared long before we found him. What an example of “the field is white already to harvest." 

I have learned so much in the last two years, more than I could ever write about. I am so thankful for the companions I have had to serve with (more like brothers.) I have learned so much from each of them and have had so many great times laboring in the Lord’s vineyard. I am so grateful they have been patient with me and always encouraged me to do my best. I have made the best friends I have ever had while being out in the field. I have a testimony that we’re called to go out two by two! I am also thankful for my parents who have helped carry me through my mission, being my greatest support.  I love them and will be eternally grateful for them. 

I have such a deep testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know he lives and loves us. I picture my mission as He personally led me day by day and night by night. HE has always been there for me and for my companions in this work. Multiple times I have seen the promise in D&C 84:88. His angels have always been there to bear me up in trial in places of danger and in the times I was in need to call down blessings from heaven. I love him and will always serve him. 

The greatest lesson I have learned is how much God loves his children. It doesn't matter where you are in the world, God’s love is equal everywhere. He wants all of his children to know him and return to live with him. He loves us so much he has given us a chance to become like him if we only follow his son’s example. I love the people here in West Virginia and Virginia. They have won over my heart as I have worked myself almost to my breaking points to try to help them escape from the evils of this world and of the ones who have repented and who were changed, how great their joy has been. I love this work and this gospel and always will! How fun it will be to see what lies ahead. Keep going and keep trusting because there is always miracles around the corner. "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you." 

My Father made a motto for his mission in Mexico to "Keep the Faith." I have also kept the faith and can say I have done all I could and I have done my very best--what a great feeling, the Lord has magnified my efforts and it was only possible through Him. May we all Keep the Faith! 

 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith!

Much Love! 

Elder L. Kaleb Bingham

A Final Message~Dear Kaleb, We are so proud of you!  You were an exemplary missionary, leader, friend, and disciple of our Savior, Jesus Christ!  You tried your hardest every day to listen to the spirit and follow the promptings that were given to you to help those that Heavenly Father sent your way. As you taught your "friends" you learned to recognize and appreciate the daily miracles that come with being a missionary. They are the works of our Heavenly Father that you helped bring to his children. So many times you were in the "right place at the right time" - all of them true miracles! You always have such a positive attitude and were always able to see the good in what was happening, no matter the challenge. You were like Nephi who, at the end of his life, was able to recognize that even after "seeing many afflictions in the course of my days," he saw himself as "highly favored of the Lord in all my days." And just as you learned to recognize the miracles that happen all around us, you were able to teach your friends to recognize the miracles in their lives.  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 us all, especially to your siblings and for that we are truly grateful.  In this process, you have truly been converted yourself.  You understand the atonement and what the sacrifices that Jesus Christ made for us really mean.  You have come home with such a valiant testimony and our testimonies were strengthened as you shared your "miracles." Your mission was a success and we know that your mission will continue to serve you throughout your life.  Please continue to come back to this book and remember how you felt as a missionary, and remember the love that you felt from your Heavenly Father.  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!  

Love, Mom and Dad

Always Keep the Faith!

After TWO years, You run out of Subject Titles-- May 31, 2016

Hello Everyone,

Well church was fun yesterday! So sacrament meeting started late and we were rushing to get the sacrament set up and just as we were finishing up, the branch president came up to us and said that his concluding speaker for the meetings truck broke down and he wasn't going to make it. . . so I said, “Do you need me to fill in?” He said that would be great and slapped a talk in my hand as a topic. Well I still had to bless the sacrament and in between that I was trying to read parts of this talk I was supposed to go off of and it was chaotic! But it all turned out fine; the talk went well and it all worked out. I really liked the talk; it was called "What thinks Christ of me?" It had some good thoughts. My favorite from it was that we should be more worried about the judgments of Christ than our fellow man. But yeah, you gotta love serving in a small branch! Most Sundays are stressful, but I know I will miss it when I am gone.  

So Brother Kenny Pauley had his baptism interview this last week and he passed! He will be getting baptized this coming Saturday. We are pretty excited for that and so is he. He has opened up so much to the branch, he was glowing at church. When they announced his baptism from the pulpit, he said he felt chills. He was so excited, it was awesome. We are trying to get him rolling with Family History work so he can go to the temple soon after he is baptized. Keep him in your prayers! 

There is an outstanding family in our branch, the McClure's. They have held the branch together for years. Sister McClure is not doing too well, she has cancer and as Brother McClure put it, she is on a downward spiral at the moment. It is really sad to see such a good family go through such a hard trial. We had an opportunity to go and take the sacrament to them with some members of the branch this last week and it was a powerful experience that I will never forget. We administered the sacrament after singing a hymn (there is a green hill far away) and afterwards, Brother McClure, in tears, wanted to share a message with us. He talked about how there is always more we can do, that no matter what, we always need to serve just a little more. This blew me away. I don't think I have ever met someone so humble and so Christ like. I guess no matter what the trial is or the challenge, we always need to give just a little bit more. Please keep them in your prayers. 

Well, this is my last full week as a full time missionary! I have accepted it I guess. There are a lot of good things ahead and I know everything will all work out. I feel overly blessed that is for sure! I will always reflect back on these moments that have changed my life. I love you all--thanks for the support!

Remember that God loves you! 

Keep the Faith! 

- Elder Kaleb Bingham

Last Minute Miracles -- May 23, 2016

Hello Everyone,

Things in Richlands are going pretty well, we are faced with many challenges, but we are pressing forward and always trying to find new ways to improve our area. One thing that I have learned in the last few months is the principle to endure. We have had some disappointments and some challenges with those we teach and with those we work with. I promised myself that I would finish my mission strong in the best way that I could so we have not given up at all. We have stayed diligent and we just kept trying. At the point where we almost couldn't do any more on our end, the Lord provided us with a miracle. He led Brother Kenny Pauley right to us and boy has he been prepared. We have been teaching Kenny for three weeks now and he hasn't missed a Sunday at church and has been taught all the commandments and is ready for baptism. He initially was going to get baptized in the end of June, but he has been progressing in the gospel so fast he is ready to do it a lot sooner. We challenged him to be baptized on June 4th because we felt like he was ready. He was a little nervous for that because it is pretty soon, so he decided to pray on it and let us know what he thought. The following day after that lesson we get a random text from Kenny one morning and it said, "We getting baptized June 4th!" What a miracle it was! The Lord is behind his work and how grateful I am that I followed the impression to just try a little bit harder. If we hadn't have kept pushing ourselves, we would not have found this man! 

The next best experience we had this week is our friend Clyde came to church! He was the man we found a few weeks ago that had lost his wife not too long ago and was really struggling. He tried to drop our meetings, but I wouldn't let him. I guess persistence paid off? Now he is really working towards baptism and being able to see his wife again. He is one of my favorites; he really is such a great guy. Our lessons this last week were awesome with him. We really focused on the Spirit and how his life would be blessed as he came to church, and it worked, so we will see how the blessings come for him this week! 

I am doing better about facing the reality of coming home. . . I think I am going to do better than I think I will and I am excited to apply the things I have learned out here back there. It will be good, my mission President told our mission, "The greatest success you will have on your mission will be your own complete conversion." I find a lot of comfort in that because I know where my testimony stands. I am so thankful for such a loving Heavenly Father and a loving Savior. I am so blessed, that is for sure. I love you all! Have a good week.

Keep the Faith! 

 - Elder L. Kaleb Bingham 

Things are Rich in Richlands! -- May 16, 2016

Hello Everyone,

This week was pretty mellow! It went by fast, but it was kind of slow on the teaching and finding end of things. We did some fun stuff though, we had a zone conference in Pembroke this week with our mission president and that was fun. We went over some talks, one about pride and the other about our purpose as missionaries: Teaching Repentance and Baptizing Converts.

Last week I mentioned Kenny, one of the guys we have been teaching. Well he has been doing great; it has blown me away, he has been keeping all kinds of commitments. This last week we saw him a few times and we decided we would go over the Word of Wisdom and try to commit him to living it. I was a little worried about the lesson because fifteen years ago when he almost joined the church last time, he didn't because he couldn't quit the things he needed too. Well we prayed and we taught the lesson and he soaked it in and when it came to the commitment end of the lesson he was more than happy to quit drinking coffee and smoking! We even walked out with a giant thing full of coffee mix to throw in the dumpster. It was pretty cool. He is such a simple guy and he truly just wants to change. He knows that is what the Lord wants him to do. 

We even had a lesson last night (on his birthday.) We had gotten him something and we brought over our recent convert, Brother Gunn, to help us teach. I don't think there is anything more powerful than a recent convert bearing his testimony to someone who is preparing to join the church--it was so awesome. Kenny is a little nervous about paying tithing when he joins, so keep him in your prayers! 

Well this week we almost got hit by lightning! At least we thought we did. We had some crazy weather and Elder Burgener and I were getting things out of the trunk of our car when we heard a giant boom right above our heads. It was so loud we both fell to the ground pretty much expecting the worst, but all is well, we were safe! Very grateful for the Lord and how he watches over his missionaries.

We also had a cool lesson with a less active sister in the branch that has not been coming to church. She recently lost a son who had a lot of handicaps and has been grieving. We listened to her concerns and we promised her that she needed the Lord’s spirit to be healed from her loss. We committed her to coming to church and she was a little soft with it. Then on Sunday morning, she called before church and was crying. She said she couldn't make it this week, but that the Lord has told her she needs to come back and she said nothing will stop her for this next week. It was a tender mercy for sure! 

How great the mission is. I am enjoying the blessings from it. I have really been focusing on my relationship with the Lord and with the spirit. Preparing to go home, I really don't want to feel a big difference in my life when I get released. I have enjoyed being so involved in my scriptures and being lead consistently by the spirit. Something I will need my whole life! I love you all and thank you for the support and encouragement!

Keep the Faith!

-Elder L. Kaleb Bingham

Enduring to the End -- May 9, 2016

Hello everyone,

Last week I told you I had been fasting for a miracle. It seemed like after I did this we faced a lot of challenges and opposition in our day to day work but finally last week that miracle came! We were walking to go teach some friends of ours, when we walked past a trailer where a man came out and asked us if we were Mormons. I hesitated because I thought he was going to want to bash with us but we stopped and talked with him, boy was I wrong! He actually used to meet with missionaries over fifteen years ago and in fact he almost got baptized. He said that the only thing that stopped him was quitting smoking, although he told us that he now is ready to quit and pick up where he had left off. He recognized that God sent us to him; he said it over and over. How great it was to find this man. We returned to his humble home with our recent convert, Brother Gun and he did a great job of fellow-shipping and explaining his newly developed testimony of the church. They hit it off. Kenny even came to a Mother’s Day social and he came to church with us the next morning and kept remarking how he felt so comfortable there--truly a miracle from a loving Heavenly Father. I guess we will see if he gets baptized before I leave or not (he is currently on date) but I am sure happy to be a part of his journey back to our Savior.  

This week I was able to attend the funeral of a great man that I used to meet with over a year ago. The funeral was different from what I am used too. We were a little nervous to go because we were not sure how it would look if two Mormon missionaries showed up to a funeral but everyone was so nice to us; it was pretty neat. There was a preacher from a church that preached at the service. He was a nice man; we had a couple of good laughs with him. The service started out with a military tribute and that was powerful, but then the preacher started his thing. It started normal but then he just started yelling and screaming and a whole different spirit came into the room; the peaceful calmness of the spirit left. I do not mean to bash the preacher, but I feel like he failed. He didn't speak words of comfort that the family needed. He didn't reassure anyone that they could be with their father, husband, cousin, brother or friend again and while he preached, the spirit was absent. It really opened my eyes to how impactful the Restored Gospel is. Truly we need to feel God’s love in such a hard time. I missed that and I feel bad that is not the message that this preacher decided to talk about. This guy did sing a really good song though! It was really good so I feel like that left the funeral service on a peaceful note.  I am glad we could go show our support. I am so thankful for the plan of salvation! 

Speaking of the plan of salvation, we had a killer lesson with Cheryl and Austin, one of the couples we are teaching. We were covering the plan; Austin has lost his mother not too long ago, so he was down about that, our lesson really seemed to help. Cheryl is Awesome! We were covering the Kingdoms of Glory and she made an awesome connection. She said that she has always wondered what Paul meant in the Bible when he said he was carried up to the third heaven to dwell with God. And she said it finally made sense what that meant! It was one of the moments that you really cherish as a missionary. 

So I had to talk about enduring to the end in Sacrament yesterday. I think it was good practice for my homecoming talk coming up. There was one scripture I quoted that I found a lot of peace with! Has the Savior not overcome the world? It has already been done. I know in the toughest of times if we point our hearts back to God we can receive spiritual strength--that will give us the strength to endure. 

John16:33  These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. 

Have a great week and Keep the Faith! 

- Elder L. Kaleb Bingham

First of May -- May 2, 016

Hello Everyone,

What a week! I don’t think I have had so many disappointments in one week in a while! I have felt good all week knowing that we have done all we could. We worked hard all week and it didn't pan out like we were hoping, but we definitely still saw the Lord’s hand in all that we did.  

Well this was pretty sweet! We were trying to contact someone we had met weeks ago and they were not home. So we were walking away and I had a simple impression to go knock a trailer that was nearby. So my companion and I went up to this trailer and tried to teach. A lady answered and of course told us she was Methodist and that was that. Before she shut the door I asked who she knew that we could try to teach. She then referred us to a trailer that was across the street. She said that man’s wife recently passed away. So we went over there and we knocked on the door and a man in his 50's answered. I started talking about what we do and he was not really having it; he was about to turn us away and I said, “Could I please just read you a scripture?” He said, “Yes, I never turn down a scripture.” So he let us in and we sat down and met his son that was also there. Well after making small talk we said a prayer and had a lesson. The scripture that I read was (Alma 40:11). We learned that this man recently lost his wife unexpectedly and he was pretty torn up by it. He told us he was not sure why he was here. He said he has been asking God to take him too because he was miserable. Nothing was working in his life and he was purely angry. After we let him vent we started to teach very simply little by little he started to listen and we were able to teach him about some of the plan of salvation. It was amazing from the start of the lesson to the end of the lesson.  I saw his whole countenance change. He seemed brighter when we left, in-fact his dark home felt brighter. We were able to leave him with a prayer and a few commitments that he was determined to keep. It was pretty cool to kneel down and pray with Clyde and his son. The healing process started with him. Now the disappointing part of all of this, He texted this morning saying how he was done with God and no longer wanted to meet. I hope he is just a little discouraged and down. We sent him a few things but haven't heard back so we will have to see what happens. Keep him in your prayers! 

So Elder Burgener and I got in touch with our inner man this week. There was a member of the branch whose wife has been in the hospital and he needed some help around the house. He asked us if we could do a "little" trim work and I was thinking oh yeah, we can trim around the house and what not. Well we got there and he showed us the project, he needed us to trim some massive steep hill sides! It was crazy; we got to use some pretty nice weed eaters though and we did work--it was fun. It feels good to serve!  

So I had been praying and fasting for a miracle to finish off the mission. Well at church yesterday, we had a bad turnout-- no one came and we had like 14 members show up. . So I was a little discouraged but then a lady walked in that I had never seen before and she sat down and the only thing she had was a paper back copy of the Book of Mormon. So the branch President came over and told me she once almost got baptized and used to be taught by the missionaries. So we welcomed her and sat by her and everything. She even stayed all three hours and in Gospel Principles class she told us she wanted to be baptized! I was like wow, “Ask and ye shall receive!” So we set up an appointment to meet with her then she went to relief society and after that class came up to us and said, "I think I have changed my mind." I was like, “What happened?” And she expressed that she had quit smoking but was not completely sure if she wants to quit forever. I said, “Don’t give up that easy!” We talked for a minute; then she went home. We will still hopefully meet with her. I think there is still hope we will see what this week brings! 

Amber Griffey lost her dad this last week. He passed away very young. When I was here last year I taught her father Dennis Tate and had a lot of good experiences. I remember he even come to church with us and bore his testimony of the Savior in sacrament meeting. It was sad to hear of his passing. These times really allow us to reflect on the plan of salvation. There are many things the Savior can only fix. I really hope Dennis is being worked on in the Spirit world. It is beautiful how merciful the Lord really is. Please keep Amber and Chad in your prayers. 

Well that is the weeks recap! Things are going good--I know better than they seem. I love the Lord I am thankful to be a part of this work!

Keep the Faith! 

- ELder L. Kaleb Bingham

T-1 Transfer Left -- April 25, 2016

Hello Everyone,

So it has officially come to my attention that I only have one transfer left of the mission. I really hate the reality of this! It just doesn't seem right to have to prepare to go home. I mean what in the world happened to those two years?! I have never related so well to John when he asked if he could be a missionary until the Lord comes back again. But I know that there is a greater mission and that is based on building a family. But really, being a missionary has never felt so sincere. 

Well last week did go pretty good! I will share some experiences: 

Our friend Chris Harmon is in a sticky spot right now. He is so close to being ready to get baptized and is on tract but this last week we had to go over the Law of Chasity with him and I thought it was cool how we lead into it. He had read 1 Nephi 8 and had a lot of questions about the chapter known as the Iron Rod. Well we got a piece of paper and drew out the whole vision and broke down the symbolism of it. We then talked about all the commandments he would need to keep in order to get baptized, the process of faith and Repentance. It was really cool to see him recognize the changes he needed to make but also to see him recognize the progress he has already made. So in the middle of the lesson I had a very clear impression that we were going to have to give him a blessing and like five minutes later he broke down not knowing if he was capable of making so many changes. So I explained the blessing, how it works, where it comes from and he wanted one. He said he was really in need of something like that. So I gave him one and it was so specific. I learned of the love our Heavenly Father had for this man and the potential that was before him. Needless to say the blessing really gave him the faith he needed to press on. The power of the priesthood and the workings of the spirit are beyond us! 

For weeks we have been trying to meet with a family that was a media referral on Mormon.org. We haven't had much luck meeting with them. We had tried and tried and nothing was panning out but we stayed persistent when we thought we should have backed off. Well finally, last week we went to teach the family and it worked out! We were able to meet with Cheryl and Austin and teach them and their family in their home. We had a sweet lesson on repentance and baptism. They committed to coming to church and they did! The whole family came and stayed all three hours! It was great. The meetings were a little slow but I definitely think they felt the spirit and had a great warm welcome there by the members. I am so glad we stayed persistent! 

I was reminded of the lesson of trusting the Lord this last week. Last week our friend Sam and his family ended up having a very rough experience at church that really offended them and they had the right to be offended. The whole week we tried everything to repair the damage and I was so stressed about it. Well Sam and his boy Kyler came back to church and they had a lot better experience! In fact I think it was a very uplifting one for them and everything went a whole lot better and it all worked out! It was a tender mercy for sure. Sometimes we have to remember who the real teacher is and trust in the Lord to provide a miracle! He always seems to make up the differences. 

My companion and I have felt like Ammon, working at this food pantry. When we are doing service we are working as hard as we can to just serve and it has been cool to see the people’s reactions. There are countless "preachers" who come basically for a free meal and we show up in suits and ties and out work the crowd! We have been waiting for the opportunity to be able to really teach and I think it will come soon! 

I studied the talk by Sister Marriot in the October conference it is called "Yielding our hearts to God." I have really enjoyed her talk, she speaks of a family motto "It will all work out." I thought this talk was neat because it was a reminder that we always need to come to the Lord with a broken heart and a contrite spirit so he can heal us! The motto has brought me a lot of confidence knowing that it will all work out. What can go wrong if you put the Lord first in your life? 

Hope everyone has a great week! Thanks for the prayers and the support and Keep the Faith!  

- Elder L. Kaleb Bingham

Weekly Update -- April 18, 2016

Hello Everyone,

This week went good! It went by super fast. I was able to go on exchange with the Welch, West Virginia Elders. Every time I do, I am extremely humbled by the experience. That area is the pitt of West Virginia. It is so poor--it blows my mind. I found myself teaching a man in a shack home--literally like a shack. I felt like we were in a foreign country and it almost brought me to tears knowing how thankful I am for what I have. The man we were teaching couldn't have been happier! It was a humbling experience. Count your many blessings right? Then your own trials start to not seem as hard. 

Speaking of humbling experiences, this one was pretty cool. Every week we volunteer at a food pantry here in Richlands. It is fun, we carry boxes of food out to cars for people that need it. Well one of my favorite people work there. His name is Harold. He is an elderly guy that is way funny. We have a pretty good relationship with this man and he is one of the "head honchos." Well people have to qualify for the boxes of food and they only get an allotted amount. This younger aged mom walked in and you could tell she wasn't used to being there to get food. Well she hands her paperwork to Harold and he says one box, so Elder Burgener picks one up and they start walking. Then Harold pushes a box of food at me and nods like he wanted me to sneak an extra box of food out for this lady! So I did it. . . and when the lady realized that all the food was for her and her kids, her expression was priceless.  She teared up and so did we. Service really does warm the heart! 

Man our friend Chris Harmon is doing great! We have been teaching him a lot lately and he finally came to church this last week! He really enjoyed it too. He said how one of the talks really stuck out to him. It was about gratitude. He really enjoyed sacrament meeting and is on his way! It has been cool to see the gospel really start to change him. He loves the Book of Mormon and is learning a lot from it. This week we are going to dive into the commandments. Keep Chris in your prayers please! 

Sam and Tuesday came to church yesterday with their kids! I can just picture them going to the temple. They are such a great family and they just belong in the church. Their kids are so funny as well. They have been so good to me on my mission.  I love that family and can’t wait to see the day they get baptized and go to the temple. As members of the church, we have to be extra careful how we treat visitors that come on Sunday. It is important to remember this is not "your church." It is not yours at all. It is the Lord’s church--it is his. That is how we should treat everyone as they come. 

I love the gospel. I feel so converted to it. The mission is such a good place to change and become better. I feel a night and day difference in myself and I love it. The Atonement and living the gospel feels so good! I hope everyone had a good week! I will talk at you again on Monday!

Keep the Faith, 

- Elder L. Kaleb Bingham

April Snow Showers Brings May Flowers? -- April 11, 2016

Hello Everyone,

It is hard to explain how this week went! It seemed to go well for the most part. It got super cold, and dropped below freezing for a couple of days. That was not fun!  I had put away and packed up all my winter gear and had to break it all back out. Luckily it is warm again! The area is doing pretty good as well. It has had its ups and downs but for the most part we are doing great, given the circumstances. I have talked about how we serve in a very small branch before and the coolest thing happened at church this week. We had three less active families show up for church and they stayed all three hours! It was awesome to see some kids at church--all three families have children and youth. This was the first time I have seen a primary in the Richlands branch in the six months that I have served here. It brought an energy that we needed. 

Our friend Chris Harmon is doing pretty good right now. Chris has never been very religious or never really went to church but we have been meeting with him and he went from being pagan or wicken to now believing in Jesus Christ! He always has a lot of questions but the man lights up when we teach him. You can literally see the spirit lighting up his life! This week he read the Book of Mormon I think every day and he has enjoyed that, he says it brings him peace. We also taught him the Plan of Salvation and he ate that up as well. My favorite parts of the lesson have been when we pray and kneel and he always is willing to say the closing prayer. His prayers are so pure and powerful. It is fun to see someone pray about the message you teach them. Our next hurtle is getting him to sacrament more often! Keep him in your prayers please! 

We had a pretty fun lesson earlier this week with some people we had never really taught much before we got to our appointment and sat down with this couple, Doug and Tammie. We were about to get started when someone knocked on the door and it was her sister. She wanted to hear what we had to say. Then another knock came moments after and it was their parents. They also wanted to learn. One by one we ended up having a crowd of people to teach and it was sweet! We taught the Doctrine of Christ and they all loved it. They all want change and want to get right with God as they said. So we asked the whole room of people to set a goal to be baptized and they all accepted. It was amazing. They just poured in out of nowhere, it was pretty funny and well enjoyed.

When the people we teach experience Anti Mormon material, it never surprises me. I think everyone I have taught in the last two years has experienced it in one form or another. This week the Dye family we have been teaching told us that she told her co-workers that she was meeting with us and they pretty much roasted her for it. After a lot of discussion with her co-workers, she boldly told them, "I like meeting with the Mormons, they make the most sense out of all of you!" I thought this was pretty cool; one thing that you cannot deny is the spirit and how you feel from hearing our message. I am thankful for the spirit that is for sure. It amazes me how many "Christian People" claim to follow Christ but yet will almost crucify someone for trying to know him and follow him. It is unreal in this area! But that is what makes it unique. I guess I would have never had the same understanding of the confusion that Joseph Smith had when he was young if I hadn’t served here.  If you want to find out, just take an hour in the Bible belt! 

We had been praying for a miracle to find someone that is ready to really accept the gospel and we were blessed by one! We received a referral from Salt Lake saying a lady requested a Book of Mormon in Richlands.  So we went and met this lady and she is incredible. We asked her why she wanted a Book of Mormon and she said to get closer to Christ because she wants to change. She had found a copy of the book in jail and read it and agreed with most of it. Now she and her husband want to investigate the church! It almost felt too real to be true, but the Lord blesses you for your diligence. I am a firm believer that you reap what you sow. 

I am so thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. He is real and I have grown so much closer to him.  I know that his greatest desire is that all of God’s children repent and change. I love him and am so grateful to serve him. I hope everyone has a good week!

Keep the Faith! 

- Elder L. Kaleb Bingham

 * We will be back on Monday to email~our transfers this month have been moved around. 

Conference Week -- April 4, 2016

Hello Everyone,

Funny story of the week! So we felt prompted to go knock a few doors in a trailer park so we did and we meet a really nice man! He let us in his home without hesitation and we sat down and started talking. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a giant tom cat and it came over and jumped all over us. It was a little distracting, not a big fan of cats in the first place, well a few minutes passed and out of nowhere, the cat started attacking me! It was crazy! My companion stats laughing and the owner came and grabbed it. It was a good time. Nice man, we are going back this week!  

Well one of the sweetest miracles I have seen in a while. There is a family here I love to death, Chad and Amber--some of the greatest people I have met on the mission over the course of a year and a half or so. I have known them and have always wanted the very best for them! Amber has always had a hard time accepting the Book of Mormon because she was raised very distant from anything besides the Bible. She had never read it nor committed to read it. After a very lengthy discussion about the restoration, she finally agreed to reading through the book and highlighting all the times it speaks of our Savior. I was so happy when she agreed in doing this, I almost cried because I know they want nothing more than for their family to be happy and I know with all my heart that a family can only be happy in this world when they are built on the gospel and not just any gospel, but the restored gospel with divine power to bind families together. Although this is just a start for Amber, I know it is going to bless both of them richly and abundantly. I cannot wait to see the day when she receives a witness that this is true and can feel the blessings that lie ahead for her and her family.  

This last week I was not feeling as successful as I have in the past, I decided to read the definition of a successful missionary in PMG. I did and it comforted me. One of the points says you can feel that you are a successful missionary when you can feel the spirit working through you. Later that week, we went and tried to teach a man. He was not home so we started working around his home. We were about to give up, nothing was working, so we started the walk back to the car. A vivid picture came into my mind, so clearly of a trailer that I had barley seen and I glanced back in the trailer park that was near. So I said lets go back, we need to find someone. We walked back to the exact trailer that had came into my mind prompted by the Holy Ghost and found a lady on her porch cleaning out her parent’s house that had passed away recently. She was going through old family pictures and stories. She was happy to see us. She had told us that she lived in Tennessee, but was here doing some work and cleaning up. We had a powerful discussion on the Plan of Salvation and how she can live with her family forever. We gave her information on how to find missionaries where she lives and she was determined to find them and speak with them more. Walking away, I felt a total peace that was from God saying "Thanks for listening." Planting seeds and honoring your commitments is what success is often about. 

We have been seeing a lot of success from working with our members! This last week we were with one of our recent converts and we decided to go stop by and see a sister from the ward, share a message and ask for a referal. We went to Sister Stewart's and the visit went great. She told us she had a friend of her grandsons that she had been working on for years and he was coming over that evening for dinner. We made a game plan. She was going to text us when he arrived there at her place so we could come and try to teach this young man. Sure enough, it worked wonderfully. We met this man, Chase, who we had actually talked to days previously in the library and we were able to teach him the restoration and he loved it. We kept contact with him throughout the week to help him read the Book of Mormon daily and he has been, but the best part of all, he came to conference with Sister Stewart from the Branch and he loved it! He really enjoyed the talk from Elder Stevenson about priesthood keys. We are seeing a great load of miracles from working with the members here in Richlands!  

Conference is a blessing! If the world would watch conference, everyone would be converted. I was truly uplifted and inspired by the words of living Prophets and Apostles. What a great weekend  it was. I loved every minute of it and am no longer scared to "face tomorrow." Have a good week! I love you all!

Keep the Faith!  

-Elder L. Kaleb Bingham 
Pictures of the coolest sun rise ever: