Week #27 ~ It really is FLAT

Hello All, 

Monday.  P-day.  We did our usual and shopped at Wal Mart

Tuesday.  Helped someone move some boxes.

Wednesday.  District meeting.  I was told that I was going to give another training in district meeting by Elder Q and if I gave him my giant flashlight that I wouldn't have to give any more trainings, so I told him to get off his high podium of pride and humble himself, so he asked Elder E to get the flashlight for him.  So I had to hide the flashlight from everyone.  During district meeting I gave the spiritual thought and I thought that it was pretty good.

Thursday.  We found out about transfers and I got transferred to Grand Island Nebraska with Elder Bailey.  He is super funny and really cool. We get along almost perfectly together.  The only hitch in the area that I am serving is that we are in a ‘car share,’ meaning that we have a mini van for half of the week and we walk for the rest of the time.

Friday.  I walked all day all over town with Elder Bailey showing me around.

Saturday.  We walked around town some more and taught a couple of lessons to some people.

Sunday.  During church the first councilor was reading the schedule for Sundays church day and he said that "Elder Vance will be telling us a little about him and also giving his testimony today” I was like ' what!?!'  So I went up and gave a little testimony.  I think that it was ok for a short one.

That is what has happened so far in this week.

Also, I need to change the batteries for my fancy touch screen watch that you gave me, so where can I get the batteries changed?  Also can you send Hank Smith- thou shalt be nice?

Love Elder Vance

My new address:

Elder Vance

635 Kennedy Dr. #1 

Grand Island, Ne 68801

Week #26 ~YES, We do use electricity!

Hello Family,

So half of this week was pretty normal until Wednesday.

Wednesday.  Zone training and zone Olympics.  It was time for zone training but it was a little different, because of the zone Olympics.  The Olympics composes of jug curls, push ups, situps, stick pull, and ladders.   I competed in the stick pull and lost to an elder almost 1 1/2 times as big as me and elder Elison did the pushups and won.  It was pretty fun doing it because almost everyone was in the suits and ties.

 Thursday.  We have new restrictions on driving miles, like I explained last week.  SO we are doing a lot of walking.  We went to Clarinda and walked around from 10 to 4, so pretty much all day. My feet were cramping and my leg hurt from all of the walking and because of my pain we walked even more.  We also walked to Clarinda Academy ( its a juvenile delinquent center) and also the Clarinda prison that was next door to the Academy.  Later that day a member took us out to eat dinner.   While we were walking, a guy came out of his house when he saw us.  He told us that he really liked the wood carving that we do and also that he hates electricity.  We then told him that we, in fact, are not Amish, but missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint and that we do use electricity every day.  He was not sure what to say to us and just kind of walked away. It was so funny!

I will send some pictures next time because I am emailing you at Bellview right now and don’t have a lot of time.

Happy past Valentines day!!

Loves to you, Elder Vance

Week #25 ~YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!

Hello Everyone,

I am doing well and staying healthy. 

This week was getting to the point of normal, except for all of the new rules that the AP's 

(Assistants to the President) have made concerning our miles.  Here are the new rules.

1.   If you go over your mile restriction, you loose your driving privileges for two transfers.

2.  Our max miles went from 1250 to 1100.

3.  We have to report our miles weekly now.

4.  We have 286 miles a week and if we go over that in a week you loose your driving privileges for two transfers.  A lot of missionaries were a  unhappy with that.   We still have to go to district meeting and zone training which is 50+ miles there and another 50 or so back.

But, anyway I think we can make it all work out.  We will at least give it a good ol' missionary try!

So on Thursday we found that our windshield wipers were broken, meaning that when ever we turn on the truck, the wipers freak out and go really fast and then just stop in the middle of the windshield.   The control for the wipers doesn't work.  So we took it to a place to fix it.    They took it apart and couldn't find out why they were going crazy and put it back together and ordered another motor for the wipers.  It should be in soon. 

Friday.  At Skate Land we were volunteering there again.   There were over 100 people there and it was just us two and one other person working behind the counters and we were very rushed so we both put on some skates and were skating to the people to help them out.  I felt like I was working at sonic.  It is so nice to know you are helping someone in need. 

Then on Saturday, we found out that the sisters in Red Oak have been coming into our area and teaching some of the people that we are teaching, so to say 'Hello' we sticky noted their car and in return they did it to our truck and wrote on the notes. 

Short of time,  that is my week

Love to all,

Elder Vance

Our hello to the sisters," Welcome to Shenandoah. "

Notes left on our truck.

Week # 24 ~This week, felt like a week!

Dang this week was crazzyy!

Monday.  P-day.  I got the call from my Mission President during P-day on Monday.   We were still shopping at Wal-Mart and Pres. told me that my Grandma Margaret had died and I just started to cry.  On the other hand…I was also relieved that she had passed so she doesn't have to suffer anymore.  It is still a bit of a hard subject but I can sometimes feel her around me.  It was hard but I am getting over it with the help of my companion and the Lord.

Tuesday.  We went and helped out at the elementary school.   Part of the helping out there is that we read and are read to by the kids.  It is as part of the progressive reading class.  The kids there get excited when they see us walk in and are super ready to read to us, they really like us. 

After that we did some service and helped to clean a less actives house (not the smoker one).  This house has 5 cats and one of them just had 6 kittens, so their entire house smells very strongly of cat urine, almost to the point making me gag.  I was put in charge of cleaning their bathroom.  I was like ' gaaaahhhh', it took me forever to finally clean everything in there.  There were lots of unidentifiable substances in there and I am sooooo very thankful to my mom and dad for teaching me how to properly clean.

Wednesday.  We had district meeting and guess what?  I got (had) to give the training on  'How can we better tie the restoration into all teaching situations’,  it went bad at least I think so.  I was super nervous and didn't know what to say so we just read the section about the restoration in the Preach my Gospel booklet and I some how was able to stretch it to be about a half hour, so I guess it went kind of good.  After that we went on exchanges with the  Glenwood elders. I went up to Glennwood and Elder Q went with Elder Elison in Shen.

Thursday.  I came back from exchanges to my apartment and found that Elder Q had rearranged our whole apartment and threw most of my stuff in the dumpster out back consisting of which was about 13 new eras and a some items that I wanted.  He also went through all of my ties and took them out of the protective plastic cases and untied all of them and tried to steal my remote control helicopter.  Because he wanted it.  Needless to say I freaked out.  He also wrote on all of our mirrors with car marker.

Friday. Saturday and Sunday were just normal

And that is my week

Elder Vance

Week #23 ~oh no oh no oh no

Family,

This week was just a little different. 

On Wednesday we went to interviews with our mission president.  It felt like I was going to show my report card to my parents.  I was kind of nervous because it was my first one with him and each interview was about a half hour long.  You couldn't hear anything that was happening inside the room.  There was a long wait for the interviews.  There was a chair right next to the door that everyone called the 'hot seat', which is the next person to get interviewed. 

When I got into the room with President Weston, he told me a lot of things and one was to write my own book that is like the book 'Hearing the Voice of the Lord' but with my own incites and thoughts about that kind of thing. 

On Friday we were volunteering at Skate land and I still had not used that $200 gift certificate.  So I had kept it in my wallet and while we were volunteering at Skate land this guy "R" who we know from Skate Land has been going through a lot of financial issues and told me he was flat broke.   He said that he just needs to trust in the Lord for what happens next.  I  thought that it would be the perfect time to give him my gift card.  He couldn't believe it at all and thought it was a joke and we had to convince him about 5 times before he believed us. "R" was super ecstatic and was very happy, I felt really good about doing it and helping him out.

We also volunteered at the elementary school this week for a member who is a teacher there.

Love,

Elder Vance

Week # 22 ~What a terrible feeling!

Hello All,

This week has been pretty good so far. 

Elder Elison and I have been getting closer every day and we really have been a great team with teaching and backing each other.

So on Wednesday we went to Omaha and I actually saw something taller that a few stories tall building,  The city was weird and foreign seeing it.

On Sunday we went and visited a investigator with a baptismal date set for February.  We went over there to teach him some more lessons to prepare him for the interviews that were that week.  We were going to put some blocks on his computer so he couldn't look at anything inappropriate and we found out that he has been looking at a ton of pornography of all kinds and for hours on end on his computer.  When we saw this we got off of it and after a few minutes he came come, ( he is 13 years old) and we confronted him about the porn on his computer.   We told him how addicting it can be and how destroying it can be to him and his family.  While we were talking to him he was continually trying to distract him self with everything.   We talked with him a little bit more and left.  Later that night at around 9 ish, we got a text from him saying that he doesn't want to get baptized and wants to wait a few years before he makes a baptism date.

We were pretty devastated.  Later at the apartment, Elder Elison asked me to give him a blessing.   When I was saying it I knew what to say and was saying things that I had not previously planned to say.  After the prayer we were both really feeling the spirit and that ended our day pretty good.

Thank you all for the super cool birthday gifts and for the various songs of happy birthday to me.

 Love, Elder Vance

El

           

           

Week #21 ~I feel OLD!!

Dear Family,

Nothing super fantastic happened this week because of transfers this week.  Except for my birthday!  I'm 20 years old and today I feel my teenageness leaving me at a very fast rate!

I have had an interesting personal experiences.  During church yesterday, I was thinking about repentance. Suddenly I felt a giant weight that was hanging over me, I could still move around and everything but the weight was hanging onto my spirit weighing it down heavily.  I thought to myself  why even sin if you are going to feel like this?  This experience was just a moment of feeling it but it gave me a giant in site into what it really does to us when we sin.  It was a real blessing and I hope it will help me be a better missionary.

That was my Sunday-Love you all,

Love Elder Vance