Thursday, March 25, 2021

Season 16: Episode 2 and a half



Hello Friends & Family,

There weren't too many defining events this week however I will share the following:

Elder Rallison and I have started our next filming project. We've spent much time storyboarding and finding potential ways to edit the video which is very exciting, I'm learning how to use the Adobe Creative Cloud. 




I've also been able to apply a few of my previously learned skills and modified the computers we have in the mission office to better suit our needs for editing videos. We convinced president Watson to purchase a graphics card that I can install to help the load times decrease. on that same note we also happen to have a filming drone coming soon in the mail, essentially the dialogue went as follows;

Us: "Can we get a drone sent to use from home?"
President: "What if we just buy one?"
Us: "They are kinda expensive"
President: "Maybe not then"
Us: "But we WOULD be one of the only missions with a drone"
President: "Send me the info for the Drone"

We are working to strike a balance between office work and normal proselytizing missionary work. 
Has been on our minds the past two weeks but I feel that we are making progress! :-)


Stay tuned for some awesome videos!
-Elder Vance

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Season 15 Episode 5-6: Deborah is a Member

 Season 15 Episode 5-6: Deborah is a Member



Hello Friends & Family,
A bit of recap is due.....

Deborah was baptised last saturday!!! She was someone I taught just over a year ago in Lake Elsinore,
I didn't know about her baptism but then the missionaries teaching her called me and told me that she 
had requested that I speak at her baptism. I was absolutely amazed that she remembered me out of all 
the missionaries she had been with. Most of the missionaries who had taught her were still in the mission 
(a few had gone home) and they also attended. There was a missionary fleet in the congregation and it 
was a very special service!

I got transfer news, I will be going back to Riverside, however I will not be doing ASL work. Instead 
I will be assisting Elder Rallision in his videographer role for the mission. I also will be one of the few 
missionaries piloting instagram in our mission. We will be in the Canyon Crest area.
































Funny story, Bryan Smith is one of my favorite people in this mission. He is one of the Deaf Young men 
at the branch. Recently he has been attending our ASL socials, last thursday he happened to be cleaning 
his shoe in the middle of the meeting. I got his attention and asked if he wanted to see an even better 
shoe and proceeded to show him my broken missionary shoe. He then replied with "that shoe will soon 
be mine". Not thinking too heavily about it, I laughed it off and he said that he needed to go to the bathroom
and signed out of the meeting. I continued to talk with other people when Elder Robinson called my name
 from behind me and said "Someone is here to see you".
I turned around (we were in the stake center's FHC) and found Bryan with a bike helmet on asking for my 
shoe. Quite surprised, I obliged and gave it to him! He proceeded to run out of the church with my shoe. 
I ran after and eventually got it back. He had left the meeting, and biked to the church so that he could 
steal my shoe.

Elder Campbell and I met Anthony and Chris this week. They are a couple who has met with the 
missionaries for a long time, but haven't recenlty due to the pandemic. When we went around to 
check in on Formers, we knocked on their door. They opened and were quite surprised that we were in 
fact able to go outdoors. We asked if they would like to meet another time, but they only wanted to meet 
if we could meet indoors, luckily we also had approval to do that! In our meeting (about a week later) 
Anthony shared a long story about his previous experience with the missionaries and also his service
 in the army. It was a fantastic story of repentance, and just as I was asking "Where is this story going?" 
in my head, he finished with this line.
"Anyway, that's how I know the Book of Mormon is true"
What a fantastic phrase for missionaries to hear!




I am very excited to be back in Riverside, but it has come with the somewhat sad realization that 
life moves on without me. I'm sure that my Dad will laugh when he reads that profound statement t
hat I have relearned, however it is more-so an additional witness of that truth. I'm not sure how it will 
feel to visit the mission after I finish my own. I hope and pray that that time doesn't come soon.

-Elder Vance