Week #19 ~WHAT IN BLUE BLAZES!!

Hi Family,

This week has been very slow because of Christmas, so almost everyone was out of town and no one was home.  Because of this we got very few teaching appointments in for this week.  But the best thing that happened this week was skyping my family!!  It was so awesome to see them again and to talk to them!!

Something very startling happened on Sunday, the first counselor for our ward had a giant seizure during church and right before sacrament happened.  I had my head down and was thinking about some people we could visit that we have not visited in a while when I herd a very loud scream.   WHAAAAAA!!  My head shot up and Bro. G (the first counselor) was yelling very loud looking straight up and then fell off of his chair and started spasming and he had bit through his tongue  and lots of people came rushing to help him.  We called the 911 and had an ambulance come and get him.  After that we went to the hospital and gave Bro. G a blessing and hung out with his son and some close friends. I think we helped comforted them and lifted their spirits.   After an hour or so, they sent Bro. G home and we went back to church.  He is home and doing well.

CRAZY Sunday!

I am Happy and Healthy...

Short on time sorry,

Love you all,

Elder Vance

Elder Vance Listening to a Christmas Concert by Tyson on Clarinet

Family together again!

Elder Vance & Elder Elison opening presents Christmas morning

Week 18 ~ Another Church!

 Hello All,

Christmas Zone Conference this week was amazing.  Remember the talk about the Atonement that I was writing?  Well, Sister Weston, the mission presidents wife, drew names to decide who would read their paper.   Everyone, including me was hoping not to have to stand and read their paper aloud.  All the elders around me were chanting Vance- Vance- Vance,  luckily did not have to read mine.  SIster Weston kept saying only 3 more about seven times.  We heard lots of Atonement talks some were very good.  There were lots of  great talks and instruction and it was a lot of fun.  

Then jump to the week end....

OK, I have to tell you what happened the last two days.  Which are Saturday and Sunday. 

Saturday, we moved a ton of things out of a members home in Red Oak.  It is about 30 miles away from Shenandoah.   We helped out four of the sisters missionaries that serve there .  It was about 17 degrees and I was in my Wrestling hoodie and jeans.  It was freezing but I was moving around so much I stayed warm and it was kind of like our morning workout.  After we finished with the move we got their old pogo stick for helping them, we haven't tried it out yet.  A little too cold and a little too icy for pogo-ing

Then towords the evening we had to go caroling with the sisters  (heavy on the HAD) and a member around the neighborhood.   We didn't have any where to change into our suits,  so we had to find a place to change.    Wouldn’t you know it, we had to change in a Kmart bathroom. It was a very interesting situation to change into a suit in a very small bathroom with your companion and hope no one comes in while you are changing.

Sunday, for the beginning of the day it was normal but at 10 o'clock we were invited to go to a friends church.  This church was the Methodist church.  We had the opportunity to talk with their pasture of the church.  We talked to him about our church a little bit and we also asked questions about his church and how it was set up and what they believed.  It was very interesting and we talked with him for about 2 hours.

Love,

Elder Vance

                                                             Christmas Zone Conference

Week #17~ Well, well,well, what do we have here??

Hello All,

So this week was just plain weird and very exciting.

On Monday we went to the Kanesville Elders apartment and hung out with them for p-day.  We found out that they had 10 pieces of foot-long small pvc pipes.   So we got there and we asked them what the pipe was for and they showed us by blowing the Nerf sticky darts at us really hard using. They continued to demonstrated on us and they shot very hard. It hurt alot!!! So… then it was open war between the four of us for about 2 hours.  I got shot in the butt, ear, nose, cheek, forehead, back, and teeth, and pretty much everywhere else on my body.  P-day or should we have called it Nurf war day!

During the week we went out for visits.  We try to schedule out who we want to see and meet with.  We teach lessons about things that come to us through the spirit.  There is no order, we just know what to teach them when we are planning for the day. 

On Friday, we had the most interesting food we have had yet.  We were at a less active members home.  It was warmed soft tortilla shell with a square piece of cheese in the center of it and a piece of breaded chicken that was cooked put in the middle of the tortilla and then covered in a very good sauce. It was soooo goooood!  Then we watched the testaments with them and made the husband cry.  It was very spiritual moment.  He is not a member. 

Saturday was a normal day for the most part we did service projects most of the day and drop-in visists on less active members to see if they needed any thing. Right before bed,  we decided to try out some of the more advanced functions on my camera.   My companion did swan dives onto his bed and I took a 60 frame per second picture of him and it looked like he was in slow motion, it was pretty awesome.

Sunday.  We had a new investigator come to church all by him self and we haven't even met him yet.  We taught Gospel principles class that day.  My companion has been playing a joke on two of the sisters in our ward making them think he is really from Australia and not from Utah.  So in an Australia accent he attempted to teach Gospel Doctrine.  During the lesson this new investigator told my companion that he was a very beautiful man and his accent was awesome and that he should be a movie star. !???!  Not sure why but we had a great lesson. 

FYI_I am healthy and feeling great.  I am writing a paper about the Atonement and need some ideas.    Would you ALL share your thoughts with me? 

So that was my week with a lot of service and visits in between!!!

Tell Preston nice job for loosing so much weight!! Keep up the great work!

Love Elder Vance

Thank you Mom and Dad  for everything that you do for me.

Love,

 Elder Auston Vance

Elder Vance  & Elder Elison Wishing you a Merry Christmas

Week #16 ~I am dreaming of Christmas!

Well hello there, today's story is about....
Elder Vance.....
bum bum buuuum!!!

So this week has been good so far and nothing special happened ...so far.

EXCEPT for the freezing cold!!!

This week started out like every other one but, when Wednesday came around the funniest thing happened (NOT) we had literally freezing rain.  The wind was so cold and the rain was to heavy that the water was literally freezing everything it touched (including me) and our windshield kept freezing.  Then on Thursday it snowed all through the night and got down to -10 degrees and then back up during the day to around 10 to 13 degrees.  Since then it has continued to snow and to get colder. 

So we spend a little more time in our apartment than we usually do.  So to make up for that, we began some extra training, missionary style. We needed to train for unexpected assaults.  We are doing this to sharpen our Ninja like reflexes so we can dodge any projectiles (like snow balls) or any assaults like little kids swatting us with sticks (which had happened).  

So to help us train, we each bought two little $5 foam short swords and we fight each other in the apartment, and Elder Elison had brought a little Nerf gun that shoots really hard and fast, and we take turns shooting each other with the gun and the other with his two swords.  The fun of being frozen in an apartment with extra time to entertain ourselves. 

On another note, we moved in two new members into their new house this week.  Now they are part of our ward.  One family is the Taylor's and brother Taylor seems really funny and cool.

I got your package and cards they are great fun.  My companion is Elder Elison he is from Richfield, Utah and he has been out for about 9 months and we are getting along great so far.


I did learn something that surprised the heck out of me, It is that all of the elements on the earth like ice and fire, wind, stone, water etc., are all intelligences.   Meaning that they have a soul of their own and can think for them selves and that they listened to Jesus because they respected him a lot.  What an amazing world we live in and how blessed we are to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ to teach us and help us through this life!


I just found out that I can Skype you on Christmas and also call you so make a Skype account and tell me what it is and I will try to Skype you on Christmas!!

Love Elder Vance


PS.  Tell Preston to he CAN loose the weight!!  He will make it to Varsity!!

Love you lots!

Week # 15~ WHOOOO, what a week!

So this week has been very full and sad and exciting and busy.

Monday- Preparation day went shopping and did regular stuff.

Tuesday-   Had exchanges with Elder Johnson from Glenwood.  It was a very fun exchange. During that exchange a new person moved in and we now have a new neighbor living next to our apartment.  He has is a wild possum, he hangs out in the little bare tree that is next to the walk way.  When we have to go to the basement to do our laundry and he just hangs there and watches us.  I am unsure if the thing will hiss at us or chase us, but we will see.

Wednesday- Today we had district meeting and we were up in Glenwood for most of the day and Elder Smith taught the lesson. 

Thursday- Today was Thanksgiving and also when we find out about transfers.  I ate 3 thanksgiving dinners that day and almost as much pie as the dinner.  So later that day I felt very fat and didn't eat breakfast the next morning. I still feel full. 

Then we found out about transfers!  I am staying here in Shenandoah and Elder Smith has been transferred in Omaha. My new companion is Elder Elison.  He is super awesome and we get along great!  It was very sad to see Elder Smith leave!

Friday- BLACK FRIDAY!!  Elder Quail in Glenwood is now training a new missionary who is Elder McMurry, he is 25 and Quail is 19. How fantastic for all these guys coming out to serve!   Elder Johnson got transferred.  When Elder Elison got with us to go home he forgot some things in his old apartment.  So we had to go to Wal Mart -REMEMBER BLACK FRIDAY-to get some basic things for him.   Inside the store was crazy!!  There were tons of people with shopping carts dashing everywhere.  I swear that I saw someone snatch something out of another persons cart from the corner of my eye.  But we survived!

Saturday-  Elder Elison and I went down to Skate Land and did service there like we do every week and nothing big went on that day

That was my week

Love Elder Vance

P.S. Tell Preston, Makenzie and Tyson “HI” from their Elder Brother :)

                                

                               Down Town Shenandoah Iowa- Christmas