Season 5 Episode 2: The Reason for the Season

Hello Friends & Family,

We had a baptism this week!!!

Our friend Kelly has been taught by the missionaries for a long time, but finally decided that she wanted to be baptised!! After a (very) late interview, Kelly was ready to be baptised this past week. She was baptised by Elder Larsen (who started teaching her) and was confirmed on Sunday by Elder Hallsted. It was a very amazing experience to see how much she truly changed and how much happiness the Gospel has brought her. She already had some amazing moments with the Spirit, and was eagerly awaiting to have the Constant Companionship of the Spirit.

My (fantastic) Mother has asked me to write about our ASL sacrament meetings. I will briefly explain what it is like. For starters, you may think it is quiet, it is, and it isn't. Because Deaf people have limited ways of getting other people's attention, they sometimes slap the pews in order to vibrate them and notify someone. This surprised us greatly during our first few weeks.

Also, many of you may be wondering how we do Hymns. There is a projector that we have which shows a man/woman who signs the song and we all follow along. Some people sing, (roughly 3-4) so there is a bit of awkwardness around it. I often find myself humming along, then signing a little bit and looking around my companion and I will break out into song.
Yes, everyone has their eyes open for the prayers (including the sacrament).
If anyone else has questions, feel free to send them my way and I'd be happy to answer.

I went on an exchange with Elder Clifford this Saturday. After a short nerf fight, and a lot of study, we went out for the day. We had a bit of success, but we did get free street tacos and pizza! Also I got to use to OE's queen size bed again (which Is amazing)! The exchange was very good and we have 3 new potential ASL friends to teach.




Sunday we attended and annual "Messiah Sing in" in which many talented musicians come and perform George Frideric Handel's music. It was very interesting to see the faces of those who soloed the music. I could almost swear the Tenor could unhinge his jaw...
Regardless, it was really nice to see so many people of varying faiths join together to worship the Savior. Ultimately, all religions anywhere in the world worship God, and also believe in forgiveness. It truly strengthens my Testimony to see how many people are doing their best to follow Christ, no matter what church they are!







I would again like to share a quote from my favorite author James Talmage. This comes from his book " The Articles of Faith". I recently read this passage and would like to share it (and also to make my email look long)
(Article 4)
"Belief may consist in a merely intellectual assent, whilst faith implies such confidence and conviction as will impel to action.  Dictionary authority justifies us in drawing a distinction
between the two, according to present usage in English;
and this authority defines belief as a simple assent to the
truth or actuality of anything, excluding however the moral
element of responsibility through such assent, which is em
braced by faith. Belief is in a sense passive,—a mental
agreement or acceptance only ; faith is active and positive,—
such a reliance and confidence as will lead to works.

 Faith

in Christ comprises belief in Him, combined with trust in
Him. One cannot have faith without belief; yet he may
believe and still lack faith. Faith is vivified, vitalized, living
belief."

All of us may declare a specific belief, but what are we doing to show faith? Are we trusting in the God whom we worship? Are we those who declare his word, or those who actually practice it?

I would ask anyone reading this to ask themselves how they can better their faith in God and his son Jesus Christ. How can we change our proclamations to actions?
If I may give one suggestion, use this christmas season to your advantage!! Go and serve those whom need help! There are so many charities or organizations that provide us with an ample supply of service opportunities. So go and use them!


Remember the Reason for the Season  


-Elder Vance

Season 5 Episode 1: Eyes Closed, Shins Exposed

Friends & Family,

Missionaries often have unique ways of entertaining themselves. One such way for our area is occasionally playing a game called "Sandman". This game involves a playground, and 1 person who is "it". As that person steps onto the playground, he must close his eyes and attempt to tag someone else. If anyone is on the ground as the Tagger says "Sandman", they then become "it". This game is

simple in scope, but very elaborate when it comes to the precautions you take to avoid becoming "it". As our new Elders (in the zone) have played it with us, they have invented new ways of dodging, including some that they will never repeat. Elder Hobson in particular has been demolishing his shins as he has (at times successfully) ran away. One such time he lept from a ladder with his eyes closed and landed rather harshly. Luckily he quickly rebounded and no harm was done.

Harry has passed his interview!! He is on date for Baptism on Dec. 21st. It is my opinion that he will likely need 2 people to baptise him (because of his age), so we won't have to fight over that. His testimony is continuously growing, and he truly understands how faith works.
In his own words

"I don't know everything, but I know I need to go forward with faith, and so baptism is the way"

On a side note, taking the new Elders (incoming missionaries) temporarily was a very fun experience! It was very interesting to talk about their perspectives coming directly from the MTC. To them, I seemed like an old missionary. "You've been out here for 5 months already??" they would say. It feels as though I just got here. We took them to an ASL home visit that we had scheduled. It was very funny to watch their reactions as they realized that their first lesson in the field would be one in which they don't know the language. It went quite well though!

With all the new Elders in the zone, we have many new questions about ASL. It seems that everyone is in a rush to learn Sign Language. Hopefully they can refer people to us.

My Mother was extraordinarily nice and sent me 6 Christmas packages. Each package was ornately filled with individually wrapped presents that I open each day leading up to Christmas. My Mom then informed me that some gifts are actually for me to give rather than to accept myself. I always enjoy the creative ways my mom has found to serve those around her, and I will admit I am very spoiled from her. (That is my job as the youngest child)

I recently got my hands on a copy of "The articles of Faith" by James Talmage. If there is any scriptorian's out there, or anyone interested in the basic beliefs of the church, this is a fantastic approach that is both easy to understand, yet rich in depth.

"9. Man's inborn consciousness tells him of his ownexistence; his ordinary powers of observation prove the
existence of others of his kind, and of uncounted orders of
organized beings; from this he concludes that something
must have existed always, for had there been a time of no
existence, a period of nothingness, existence could never
have begun, for from nothing, nothing can be derived. The
eternal existence of something then, is a fact beyond dispute ;
and the only question requiring answer is, what is that
eternal something; that existence which is without begin
ning and without end? The skeptic may answer, "Nature;
matter has always existed, and the universe is but a mani
festation of matter organized by forces operating upon it;
however, Nature is not God." But matter is neither vital
nor active, nor is force intelligent ; yet vitality and ceaseless
activity are characteristic of created things, and the effects of
intelligence are universally present. True, nature is not
God ; and to mistake the one for the other is to call the edifice the architect, the fabric the designer, the marble ■ the sculp
tor, and the thing the power that made it. The system of
nature is the manifestation of that order which argues a
directing intelligence ; and that intelligence is of an eternal
character, coeval with existence itself. Nature herself is a
declaration of a superior Being, whose will and purpose
she portrays in all her varied aspects. Beyond and above
nature, stands nature's God." (Articles of Faith, Lecture ii)

I would share the entire book, but typing isn't as fun as I thought.

Anyway, onto the invitation!!
1. If you haven't watched "The Christ Child", Please do so ASAP. It is a wonderful video that really brings the spirit into any situation.
2. Sign up for "Light the World"
3. Keep reading the scriptures!!! (Muy Importante)


Thanks for all the emails and also for the (many) (Many) packages!!


-Elder Vance

Season 4 Episode 6: Wet Turkeys

Hello friends & family,



Thanksgiving has been a wild ride!!


To start us off, we had the largest flash flooding I have ever seen! There were giant puddles lining the streets, and to top that off, our zone activity that day was to play football!
We decided to play games inside and hope the weather cleared up. After hitting people in the head with a kickball for a bit, the rain continued! We played a few rounds of Chair soccer, and then everyone decided it would be memorable if we went outside. And memorable it was!




The grass in the field was flooded. Large mud puddles covered the playing area. At first, all of us were trying to stay as dry as possible, but then after puddles began to fill my shoes, I jumped around and got other people soaking wet. We all then individually (and mutually) decided to not care for dry clothes anymore and fully embrace the mud. What happened after that was the funniest game of football I have ever played (Pictures included).
There were many slips and falls. No clear winners were decided, however when Elder Lea exclaimed "LAST POINT WINS!" we did score the final touchdown, so.......
We had lots of fun though!!

Later that day we were very blessed to have a member in the Arlington ward host us for dinner. There was a large assortment of your typical thanksgiving day food. Somehow the conversation we were having turned into a laugh fest.
It was a fantastic Thanksgiving day!

News about Transfers!! Elder Hallsted and I are staying in the same area. We are both very excited to do so! We have many friends who have a baptisimal date for this month as we prepare for a "white christmas". (White like the jumpsuits for baptism)
We are both very optimistic for this transfer and the Friends who are progressing.


For those of you who are not yet aware, the Church is putting on a large worldwide event known as "Light the World". This campaign is to serve those around you as Christ did (or would have done) everyday! If you go to the website "Lighttheworld.org" you can sign up for a text reminder that tells you everyday of a random act of service that you can do!!

Matthew 5:14-16
"14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

Also if you have the oppourtunity, watch the video called "The Christ Child" it is a short 15 minute video of the Nativity story. It is very well made and very powerful in the message it shares.

Thank you all for the letters
(and many, MANY packages)
-Elder Vance

Season 4 Episode 5: Bunny Hop to Safety

Hello Family & Friends,

This week has been fantastic.

 (I think I say that in nearly every email)

As we were Seeking with Faith, we met a man who was very excited to give us life advice.
The three "Keys to survive" are as follows...
1. Discipline your children (Have consequences and follow through with them)
2. If a bear is running at you, step out of the way
3. If you hear a rattle snake, bunny hop in the direction you came from (Don't turn or run)

So, now everyone is prepared for life. There is no excuse to be bit by a snake anymore!

Anyway, this week we unfortunately had to pause Steve for a bit. That was pretty hard for both Elder Hallsted and I. We will visit him in the future, but not for a little while.

On friday we went on exchanges with the Zone leaders. Elder Hallsted and Elder Bailey went to our

area, and I went with Elder Chase to his area. As we were walking around, Elder Chase and I talked a lot about language missions. (He being a chinese speaking Elder) I mentioned how Deaf people are hard to find, but we honestly have more success at randomly running into them than we do actively seeking for them. Sure enough, as we were talking a short respite from our trek, one of our Branch members biked by. I waved him down and we chatted for a bit. It was very funny and very good timing.

Later that evening, as we were about to turn around and walk back to the apartment, we got a call from some visiting friends from China. They asked for help with their English (Elder Chase and Bailey offer weekly Chinese->English classes) and Elder Chase decided to have me lead the class. So yes, I taught Chinese people how to speak English. Now I get to brag about that.
The evening finished well and we talked to a lot of people. It was a really fun exchange and I learned quite a bit.

Sunday was the pinnacle of the week. We met with our Friend Kelly, and also brought along a member with us. Sister Rasmussen was an amazing help to us, and she went above and beyond to help Kelly feel at home when she went to church. Without us asking her, Sister Rasmussen had volunteered to drive Kelly to church, and also asked Kelly to "help take care of her kids" during sacrament meeting. Kelly was elated and readily accepted.

To see Kelly at church, smiling and passing notes with these 2 little girls was so amazing to see. Their interactions were so pure and sweet that my eyes started sweating a little.
We didn't want to interrupt, so we sat 2 rows behind them. When Kelly saw us, she turned around with a huge smile on her face. I couldn't help but think that this is the best work I could be doing right now.

Jesus wants us all to be happy, and have JOY! God is our loving Heavenly Father and wants to support us and give us peace in our lives. We can find this peace by following the example of our Savior and obeying his commandments.


2 Nephi 2:22-25
"22 And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.
23 And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.

24 But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.

25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy."


God loves all of his children, and has created a path for us to return to him and be Happy!




Thanks for all the prayers and letters!
-Elder Vance

Season 4 Episode 4: 24 hours with Heaven

Hello Friends & Family,

This week honestly hasn't been too eventful.

We had an exchange with our District leader this week. Elder Hallsted stayed in our area, while I left to do office work with Elder Heaven.

Let me just say, Office work was exceedingly hard. We were studying when we got called in to do "surprise office work". They tasked us with something I have never done before, eating leftover pumpkin pie. I don't know how Elder Heaven does this every day, he must be exhausted.
We also fixed a bike, so I guess we actually did do some work.

However, the best part of the exchange was using a bed that actually fit me. This world is not made for tall people. My regular bed is roughly the same height as me. I either have my head touching the Headboard, or my feet hanging off the edge. Typically I sleep diagonally so that I can fit. The office Elders are blessed to have Queen size beds, which was a welcome break from my norm.

This week we went to another Deaf event (Wednesday). It was a Deaf senior social event, which Elder Hallsted and I have had a bad history with those events. Luckily we didn't get kicked out, but rather invited into the discussion. The way we got in was quite genius on Elder Hallsted's part. He simply asked, "What is the sign for pineapple?" and we jumped right into the circle.
As we talked for a bit, we found out that one of the ladies there had been a co-creator for the ASL program at the MTC.

ASL is still a newer language for missionaries. The ASL work only started 40 years ago, and is still growing today!

Blanca was able to come to church this week, which was a very sweet experience. She came with her Father and Mother in-law. And (to my knowledge) they all enjoyed their time at the ASL branch. There was a member who was able to translate from english to spanish for the Mother, and Elder Hallsted and I were part time translators for Sunday School.
I will readily admit that I am nowhere near fluently using Sign language, but I know enough to get by.
As I Interpreted, I would often look over at the Actual Interpreter (Brother Egbert), who was taking a well deserved break. If I didn't know a sign, I would frantically look over to him and he would show me. There was one point in the lesson where the word "Substances" came up, as I looked over, he smiled and said, "You're on your own for this one!"
I had no idea what to do, and essentially halted the entire class. I was able to fingerspell the word, and catch up to the speaker, but not before many confused looks went towards me.

Blanca should be baptised on Dec. 14th. This should be the first ASL baptism in 3 years. If everything keeps progressing as it has been, it looks like we will be dressing up in white next month!

Other than that, it was a pretty common week. All good things though!!

Thanks for the Letters!
-Elder Vance

Season 4 Episode 3: I looked out the window and what did I see? A chihuahua flying right towards me!

Hello Friends & Family,

So, the Joke in the title is better understood if you sing it to the music of "popcorn popping" (easily the best primary song ever).

This week has been that of many miracles!! And yes, a chihuahua broke through a window this week.
Let me set the stage...

Elder Hallsted and I had gotten a referral from some of the Hermanas. We decided to go drop by and see if he would like to have the missionary lessons. As per Missionary standard, we are supposed to contact a referred person within 24 Hours of them being referred. We saw that the address was on Donald street, and parked near the end of the road, thinking it was close to the address. To our dismay, the address we were looking for was 3032, and we were closest to 3964. The correct house was roughly 4 blocks away. We decided to walk there anyway, and maybe find some people to talk to along the way. We had gone only about a block when I thought I saw a woman using sign language talking to someone in a car. Because of previous happenings, (lots of people just talk with their hands, not actually using sign language) I brushed it off.

We walked past the car, but I felt like we should turn around. We both agreed and began our trek of 30ft. As we turned, I saw a Chihuahua jump out of the window of the car. I quickly tried to get the man's attention. He saw me frantically waving, I then pointed to his dog (now in the road) and he lurched out of his car.
He then told us, "I can't hear!",
to which we responded (In ASL) "That's okay!! We know sign language!"
His face suddenly turned to that of surprise. After cornering his rather adventurous doggo, we proceeded to introduce ourselves. The woman we saw earlier came out from the store and we met her also. We have a lesson with them tonight at 6!

I know that this was absolutely an answer to our prayers. Finding Deaf friends to teach is very hard. We have tried many strategies to find them, but mostly to no avail. Yet in our efforts to find someone else, we happened across these 2 new friends.
"Coincidence? I think NOT" -Bernie Kropp

Every 2nd Saturday of the month, there is a Deaf event at Tyler Mall. We always enjoy going because that is typically the largest event that we can find people at. Most of the time, the population of this event is college students attempting to learn sign language. The majority being in ASL1 or 2. It is very entertaining to tell people that we have only been learning sign language for 4 months, and watching their reactions. Everyone always assumes we have been learning for at least 3 years. I like to take the compliments every once in a while.

With the large amount of ASL work we did this week, we have even more stories to tell.

One more quick story is when we were visiting our friend Frank. Frank is an older man and, similar to my Dad, (and eldest brother) he enjoys naps throughout the day. We went up to his door, and through the Storm door, and were able to see him asleep in his chair. The only issue was that Frank was Deaf. We had no way of waking him up. We shook the door, tried jumping up and down (to shake the floor) and also yelling. We even tried shining a flashlight through the door, but nothing worked. Our scheduled visit was ruined by the sweet lulls of a nap.

I could share many stories similar to those, but I also do not want to write about them. Because I have already written in my journal, I feel that is good enough.

For P-day today we are going to explore the Historic Mission Inn in Riverside.  I will send pictures is it suppose to be amazing.


Thank you again for the emails!

-Elder Vance

Mission Inn

Mission Inn

Season 4 Episode 2: Bubble Bubble Toil Trouble

Hello Friends & Family,

Happy Halloween!! (I suppose I could have sent that a week earlier so It would come on time)

Halloween is probably a missionaries worst holiday. We were all pulled in from our days to have a pumpkin carving competition for our Zone. Apparently missionaries are hot topics around Halloween, and as such we were told to stay inside after the hour of 5 pm.
It was a rather fun activity!! We carved pumpkins, made caramel apples, and practiced 3 pointers.

This week we had the amazing opportunity to baptize Daniel!! Daniel is very intelligent and always has the best questions. He was practically teaching us by the 3rd lesson.

He also has a very cool "Star Wars" edition of the Bible (which I am jealous of). He studies almost everyday and is a great example to his family!
He already began missionary work immediately following his baptism. As we were changing out of our wet clothes, I overheard a conversation that Daniel had with his Dad, It went like this;
"Do you need any help?"
"No, I'm fine"
"Alright, I'll just be waiting if you need anything"
"Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"Have you been baptized?"
"Umm, I don't know. Maybe when I was little, but I don't remember it, so I'd say no I haven't been baptized"
"Why not?"










I was so proud of him at that moment! He might not know it, but he is a great example for his family and will continue to do so!!

Another experience came from our ASL friend Josh Ofiu.

We had a short cooking class with him (videos pending) and taught his Girlfriend alot about the Book of Mormon. She is incredibly interested and already has a fantastic background knowledge. Because Josh is extremely Extroverted, he would randomly Facebook Live us cooking, or talking about the Book of Mormon.

Roughly 20 Deaf people had joined the live stream and watched us talk about the Book. They were all interested in what we had to say, and we are contacting 4 of them this week!!
Technology truly is an amazing thing to share the Gospel!!



We also had (in my opinion) a funny experience regarding timing. As we were trying to contact a new friend, we met a Member who helped us find where we were going. As he walked us to the house, we got to know him a bit better and are coming back to visit him soon. After our successful attempt to talk with our friend, we walked back to his house. Another man came out to talk to us. He expressed his worry for us, and advised us to get out of the area at this time of night.
The experience went as follows,
"Y'all shouldn't be here, especially at this time"
*Gunshot from afar off*
"Yup... See, you shouldn't be here"

For anyone who is worrying about that gunshot, don't worry. It is commonplace here. Missionaries are doing their best to stay safe, and have God on their side. But yes, we weren't going to be stupid, so we left to another area.


This week has been fantastic! It is incredible to see the work progressing.




















I'm not sure if I included this in my last email, but something we do as a mission is all the missionaries pray at 4:55 pm (california time). I would invite anyone who is willing to sync their clocks and pray with us for missionary opportunities, and that those who have been prepared to hear our message can find us and vice versa. It has been an amazing experience to have so many people trying to invite others to come unto Christ.

Other than that, it was a pretty standard week.
Thanks again for the emails!
-Elder Vance