Week # 14 ~Your super COOL and awesome son!

Dear Family,

My play by play is kind of meek right now, because it is just getting really cold, really fast so no one wants to do anything with us now.  I guess it will be more active when they can get used to the cold.

It is freezing here now!! Last night it got down to -10 degrees and during the day it was around 15 degrees.  Then two days ago we had freezing rain for the whole day and our car froze.  I had to purchase a lighter a few days ago that I had to use thaw ourkeyhole to our car for it was frozen solid.  SO… the big exciting thing that happened this week is that we got a new investigator!! 

A few weeks ago I was telling you the story of a request that I received from our mission president. I was asked to seek out someone and share theirconversion story with him.  I feel that I was following a spiritual prompting.  My companion and I prayed about whom we should see.  I prayed alone in the bedroom and a name came to me saying Betsy C.  So later we went there and when we got there her daughter just happened to drive into her drive way(the daughter was about 26 and has 2 daughters who are 3 and 11months old), she is not a member and we helped her unload her car and now today she is aninvestigator that we are starting to teach.            

We are teaching her lesson 1, It is the message of the Restoration: God is our loving Heavenly Father, the Gospel blesses families, Heavenly Father reveals his Gospel in every dispensation, the Savior's earthly ministry, the great apostasy, the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, and Pray to Know the Truth through the Holy Ghost. 

That is the first lesson that we teach investigators when we can set up a date to meet with them

We are teaching 2 investigators the new lessons (lesson 1,2, and so on). It is really exciting when we get new investigators to teach!

My testimony is definitely stronger because of teaching.  I am learning a lot while I teach also.

This week while we were walking around town to see if we could find some new people to talk to, we came across a house that had the name Vance’s on their mailbox.   We passed by their house and I wanted to go and knock on their door and tell them that we might be related somehow but we had to be somewhere at that time so we couldn't.  But next time when we pass their house I am so knocking on their door.

A follow up to last weeks letter…my retainer is fixed just right.  The Dentist was very nice and no more pain in the mouth!

Part of my exercising program these days, is just to stay warm! I did a ton of pushups and leg lifts this morning, it helped me feel like I could at least get up and going this morning!

I am reading in the BoM I am in Mormon 8. 

Here is a note to Tyson, who asked me what I do in a day.  My day in a weirdly shaped nutshell.  

I wake up at 6:30, work out, take shower, get dressed, try to wake up after shower, study until 11, eat lunch, go out into the freezing cold of the out doors and try not to slip on all of the black ice, teach investigators and less active members and recent convert members, eat dinner at a members house, come back at 9, plan for next day, do 12 week, maybe even playa game of speed (the card game) Go to bed at 10:30.  

Love,

Elder Vance

Week # 13 ~*SLAP* on the cheek

This week witnessed in first person by Elder Auston Vance

Sorry for the short letter last Tuesday but we couldn't email on Monday and we only had a few minutes for emailing on Tuesday.

So for this week I will tell you what has happened ….

Monday through Friday were average days.  Which composed of talking to less active members and members in their homes and teaching them lessons.

My health is up and down.  I have a cold of some sort, meaning I have a lot of nose blowing and a little bit of coughing.  I bought some vitamin C pills that have 1667% vitamin C in them so I think it is working to get rid of my cold.  I am taking three vitamins: one of them is a multivitamin that has a bunch of stuff for your body and the other one is the vitamin C and the last one is the fiber pill.

The other day I  was eating a Twix that I froze and while I was eating it I felt my metal part of my retainer came out and it hurt.  I then realized that my glue had come off of one or two of the teeth.  There are only two teeth- oriented places in Shen and one is a orthodontist office they won’t even take a look, because I didn't get my braces put on in Shen.  The other one is a dentist office, she said she would look at my retainer and see if they can fix it or not, so we will see if they can.   I am going there on Friday. I will try the dentist and let you know!

Saturday.     We went to Skateland because we do it every Saturday and everything was going normal until this girl, about 15 or 16, came up to me and just full on slapped me in the face.   I had talked to her a little bit just casually about what she was buying and she left and then came back and she just slapped me out of nowhere!??  She then laughed and then patted my same cheek that she slapped and said,  "See, their you go" and walked off.  I had to keep my hands in my pockets so I wouldn't do anything.  Then later she was lectured by the owner about slapping the people who volunteer there.  Slapping is better than KISSING!  At least for ELDERS!

Sunday.   This was the best day of the week!!  We got five less active members to come to church with their families!  All of the benches and all of the chairs that were set up were  filled with people and that day in church was super awesome.  I felt so good that five less active members came to church.  I have to say that some of them we kind of chewed out about not going to church. Amazingly, the next Sunday they all came and brought their families.  So I  guess the chewing out really got their attention to the reasons why they were not going and why they SHOULD go to church.

We find out about transfers on Thanksgiving Day, I don’t think I will be transferred on Thanksgiving so send packages to my address in Shenandoah.

As for my reading, I am reading in Mormon 4. 

Lots of love to everyone and thank Tyson for filling in my binder,

Love Elder Auston Vance

Week #12 ~ 20 questions answered!

Here is a quick answer to as many of your 20 questions that I can answer…

This week has been super great!!

This whole week has been full of nothing but service. 

From raking some ones yard to playing fetch with a giant German Shepard.

My health is very good.

I am starting to catch a slight cold.

I am eating lots.

I am trying to eat less.  It is hard to cut down.

Thanksgiving we are literally going to five different families for dinner in one day!!

I am reading in the Book  of Mormon.

I am at 3 Nephi 21.

We are still in Shenandoah.

We find out about transfers on Thanksgiving Day.

Could you please send me the Piano Guys Christmas CD?   I would also love the first Piano Guys CD. 

Thanks for everything,

GOTTOGO-

Love Elder Vance

Week # 11 ~ 2 New Zone Leaders + 1 Mother Baptized + 1 Temple Day = One Great Week!

The wondrous and fantastic Elder Auston T. Vance, missionary of the LDS church…

Now presents this week……

Monday.  p-day, was normal-ish.  We went shopping at Wal-Mart and got a few things and did our laundry and played a little basketball at the church.

Tuesday.  We found out that the area that our zone leaders were serving in, got white washed (where both missionary's get transferred to somewhere else for certain reasons) Elder Rigby was appointed as assistant to the mission president and Elder Neilson was transferred to another place because he only has a few weeks left on his mission.  So we got two new zone leaders who are not in any way familiar with the zone or the area that they are serving in.  They seem really nice and I have gone on an exchange with one of them already.

Wednesday.  We new we had zone meeting the next day, so we went up to Clarinda and spent the night with some of the elders who lived up there.

Thursday.  We had zone meeting all day up is Sioux City, which is about 3 or so hours drive away from our apartment.  We had to fast that morning and we were super hungry and for lunch they served us bread bowls with soup in them.  We had a very spiritual lessons and teachings that day.  After the meeting our zone leaders found out that we had a temple trip the next day, so we had to spend the night at another elders apartment again.   It would have been to hazard for us to drive all the way to Shenandoah and back.

Friday.  We had an awesome temple trip and did endowments and watched the new movie (Elder smith was seeing it for the first time). It was super great and very spiritual in the celestial room, all of the elders were hugging each other and really feeling the spirit strong. After that, we headed home.

Saturday.   We finally got home it was so nice to get to sleep on an actual bed and not the floor, which felt great by the way, We resumed the usual things with our area in teaching and visiting members and less active members.  The greatest thing was that we had another baptism that day.  Kyle (the person we baptized before that I was telling you about) baptized his mom.  It was super cool seeing someone who was baptized a few weeks before baptize his mom.

Sunday.  It was church and testimony meeting.  I didn’t get the chance to bear my testimony because a lot of people were giving around 10 minute talks.  I was really ready and feeling like I should.

So that is my week….

Love you lots and lots,

Love Elder Vance

Week # 10 ~ Pause, Ponder & Pray

Family,

Today I am feeling GREAT because…..  I just received two packages, one from Grandma  Carn and one from you.  They are full of fun Halloween goodies and fun.  Thank you, I cannot wait to dig in.  We have to stay inside all of Halloween day because of safety issues.  I appreciate the packages and love! 

So this week has been very interesting.

This week we were asked to type up a conversion story and we didn't know who to talk to about their story, so we did the "pause, ponder, and pray" tactic.  I said the prayer and waited before I ended it.   When I just sat there in the middle of my prayer and listened to the spirit for an answer, it came.  While I listened a name popped into my head. Then I ended the prayer and we went right over to the house of the person that had come to me. We met the sister that’s name came to me and learned of her fantasic conversion story.  We also had the opportunity to meet and get to know her daughter. So I am confidant that I have received an answer to my prayer.

Tuesday, Bud and Edna,  our neighbors, apparently found an abandoned kitten in their shed and have adopted it, it is a very young kitten.   It keeps making this high pitched "meow" over and over and over again, all day and night.  It is very annoying, but on a positive note, it makes us get out of the apartment faster.   So I guess it is kind of good.

Wednesday was normal and we talked to some members and less active members that day.   Towards the end of the day we were impressed to go see a certain less active members. We went and taught him a little lesson and when it was time to leave, we left and we were walking to our truck, we just so happened to pass a lady walking down the street to where we were going.   We talked to her,  we introduced ourselves and explained who we were and what we are doing.   She said that she has never heard of the missionaries.  She had never even heard or Mormons before!  So we gave her a quick lesson and gave her a pass along card and wrote our # on it and gave it to her!   It was awesome to find someone who want to learn more. 

Thursday was very interesting.  We helped move some people out of a trailer park and into a house that was pretty nice. We were moving them into the house and I noticed a ninja weapon, and I was like what the heck??   I noticed another weapon but this one was a small mace kind of thing with a thick wood handle and six sharp metal blades on the end of it and then I noticed a sword.  I was wondering why does this guy have so many weapons?!  He saw me looking at them and told me that he regularly goes to a local renaissance fair and regularly does battle with people. He wears a bear skin /fur trench coat for his costume.  Now he wants me to finish my mission and come back to their house so he can take me out to his favorite Renaissance fair and do battle with me.   Yikes I don’t know if I should be flattered or scared.  They were very nice people.

On Saturday we visited and had dinner with a member by the name of brother Wolfe.  We found out that he has been collecting magic cards (magic the gathering) since when it first came out in 1994.  I told him about Tyson liking the game of magic.  He then proceeded to show us every one of his magic cards.  He has stacks of magic cards about a foot tall to a foot and a half tall of decks that he has put together and he has enough to cover his whole table!!  Tyson would have loved and understood the visit much more than I.

So that was my week, interesting to say the least.

Love everyone so much,

Love Elder Vance

Week #9 ~Normally normal things

Hello All,

This week has been very normal.   We are still in Shen, but we have been teaching lots of families on a regular basis.   Then, when we are not teaching, we walking around the town for 1-4 hours trying to contact someone new to teach.  This week we made two new contacts and scheduled appointments to teach them. 

We approach people like this:

"Hi, how are you doing today? .... 

What are you doing? ...

Oh that is cool, need any help with that?...

Then we proceed to tell them who we are and what we are doing. 

My normal day is really full of activities and teaching and there are very little brakes we can take.  Breaks are when we eat lunch for one hour then we go right back to teaching. We are eating at a member’s house every day for dinner and sometimes for lunch also.  It is great!

So the other interesting thing that we did during our visits to a members house, was make a duck tape light sabers.   We then had a light saber battle with one of the members little boys that he was about 11 or so.  It was fun.  Some times it is fun to just break the normal day of teaching and play a little… Then back to the LORDS work.

I have taught lots of lessons. I think that I am really connecting with this less active member, her name is Shela.  She really listens to everything that I say and really pays attention whenever I talk.  She is a heavy smoker and does smoke about a pack a day.   She has a house infested with cockroaches and has a son who is about 14.   He is a little inappropriate at times and always has to be doing something.  He cannot sit still.   We will continue to try to make a difference in her life.

So, the end of this week was very slow…. the most exciting thing we did was move some people out of their apartments.  Their apartment is on the third floor of the apartment building and it took forever to move them!  Up and down the stairs.   That is the second time that we moved someone out of their apartment this week.  Every time we moved them they had something that was super heavy that we could barely lift.  Better yet move it down three flits of stairs and into a moving truck.

I am reading the BoM again from the beginning and am in Third Nephi, chapter 7.

I am asking for those things because on Halloween we have to stay in our apartment all day for safety reasons. I have not gotten your packages yet, thank you for sending me the music! Please send it directly to my apartment

Thank you for the talking/typing time with me, but my time is over and I have to go.

Love you so much!!

Love Elder Vance