Season 8 Episode 6: Quarantined !

Hello Friends & Family,













SAME...













-Elder Vance

Season 8 Episode 5: Social Media Council strikes back

Hello Friends & Family,

This week was well... pretty much the same, with a few exceptions noted below.

We had "Multi-zones" this week. Rather than 2 zones gathered together to recieve Trainings, we grouped half the mission together and did North-Half andSouth-half, meetings.
Elder Campbell and I gave a training for the south half. We layed out the "4 commandments of posting". I hope this was well recieved. We have had a few issues with posting lately, so a reminder of our boundaries was well needed for the mission (including myself).




Without going into detail, I had an encounter with some fellow missionaries this week that humbled me. I was rather upset with these missionaries who weren't doing what they were supposed to, but after consulting with Elder Rich, (look out ladies he's coming home soon) I was invited to see things from their perspective. Elder Rich opened my understanding of how they might feel, and rather than angrily calling them, I genuinely wanted to help them. I wish Elder Rich would narrate a book, that would be fun to listen to.

A LITTLE FUN!  WATCH & WAIT FOR IT.........

I am continuing to interpret for an upcoming book. I don't have all the details, but this week we interviewed (meaning me interpreting the questions asked) a College Professor (hearing) and his Deaf daughter who is in college. We also had the opportunity to talk with a Deaf man who had been a college graduate (of course I won't name names). We heard about their stories and how they learned to sign, also we got new insights into Deaf culture. Super cool stuff!! If you have specific questions, send them my way, we talked about alot so I won't put it all down here.

Anywho, I'm not perfect, but I learned something important.
That's the quick edition of that story, sorry for the ambiguity.


Hang in there!
-Elder Vance

Season 8 Episode 4: The man who speaks with Karate

Hello Friends & Family,

Social Isolation life is pretty much the same.

Not much to report there.

However!!

Because we are having a

unique schedule now, 

social media has provided 

us with the means of 

connecting to literally 

hundreds of thousands 

of people!

I will share a few of our experiences thus far.

Because of my
ASL videos continuously

popping up, more people
have begun to recognize
me as a Signer.

Which is very surprising to 

me and kind of people!

There was a post on the "Worldwide United"
group (previously the worldwide fast group)
asking if someone could interpret ASL.
 I never actually saw this post, but
15 people who recommended me did!

They tagged me so many times, that the
person asking for help texted me and told
me her story.

She has a brother who is Deaf, and who 

went to an oral school for the Deaf as 

he was growing up. This caused quite a 

few interesting events to happen, which 

eventually led to him learning sign language 

and having a future family. 

The woman who contacted me knows 

enough sign language to communicate, 

but not enough to have an in depth 

conversation. 

This is where I came into the

picture. Because of her 

Brother's experiences, she wanted to 

write a book to increase the knowledge 

about Deaf culture, but she needed 

someone who could help break the 

communication barrier. 

I happily agreed to help!! 

He has an amazing story that

we are diving into, and we 

will have more time to talk later this week.

Our social media efforts have landed us teaching appointments from 4 other countries. 

We teach them initially (due to their insistence) and then refer them. 

I am keeping a list of all the places we have shared the Gospel virtually, and it is very fun!! 

There was another lesson in particular that stood out to me. 

A man reached out to me and asked me to interpret for him. After video chatting for a bit, I found out more about him. He has Cerebral Palsy, and is also hard of hearing. Because of this, he understands ASL but cannot sign it himself. 

He asked me to "Be his hands".                                             He bore his testimony, then watched me         repeat it in ASL, so that he could see                    it all come together, and so that he                 could be connected to the Deaf culture.                

This nearly made me cry in front of him. He relied so heavily on Jesus, saying,

 "As long as I have this chair (his electric wheelchair) and can breath, God can use me".

The imagery of being "The Savior's hands" now has a new meaning for me...

-Elder Vance

Season 8 Episode 3: 11 New Chicago lane

Hello Friends & Family

Hopefully someone gets that reference
(No that's not actually our address)

Well, not much to report in quarantine life, other than we are trying almost anything to teach people.

Many people might be wondering,
"I wonder what it's like to be a missionary right now?"
Let me answer, it's not the best. It is worthwhile (assuming you are trying your best).
We are inside all day, the same as most of you, however we have a very special assignment from a Prophet of God to teach everyone about the Restored Gospel. However, I can remember several times that the prophet has asked ALL of us to share what we know, so you are also in the same boat there. 

As Full-time missionaries, we are used to walking around for several hours of the day, meeting new people we pass by and congregating in homes to share the truths we hold dear. However we are not able to do that now. It is easy to feel that we are "stuck" and wonder "How can I still fulfill my missionary purpose?" (I have done this frequently).
After several weeks of this, I came to a conclusion.
We must....
1. Improvise
2. Adapt
3. Overcome 

The missionary department as a whole is shifting to an Online Proselyting effort, and I would encourage each of you to search for your Local stake/ward Facebook and other social media pages. We are sharing messages daily there, and also some hilarious videos, but we NEED your help! Share our messages, or send in messages of your own, it is now easier to share the Gospel, we dont even need to bike for an hour to get to an appointment! 

It is easier to share, but still hard to be a missionary.

Funny story for this week. Without going Into too many details. Alot of facebook messages have come to us from our recent ASL videos we have put out, but this one tops the list. Here is what happened:

"Hi" (She)
"Hello! How are you?" (Me)
"Are you deaf?"
"No" (me)
"Why not?"
(I have never had to explain why I wasn't Deaf before, but I did so)
"Born hearing" (me)
"Oh"
Later, she called us during a chat with President. We declined because we had never met/talked before, and also we were in a call with President Hammon, you just dont hang up on him, it is very Ill-advised.


In roughly and hour, and several calls later, I finally answered. She seemed very surprised, and excited. I went all missionary mode and we began an ASL conversation.
In the middle of us talking, she began crying.
"What happened? Why are you sad? I asked
"I'm not sad, it's just beautiful..."
*obviously confused*
"What's beautiful?" I worriedly signed
"You..."
I immediately told her that missionaries could not date and then began to refer her to other ASL missionaries to avoid contacting her again.
Then I saw her fingerspell "B-O-Y-F-R-I-E-N-D" followed by "I want you"
*Full panic*
I declined immediately and hung up.
I have since ignored her calls and gotten her in contact with some other missionaries.

So there you go, hopefully that helps someone smile!
-Elder Vance

Season 8 Episode 2: Yes, Still Quarantined!

Hello Friends & Family,

Yes, We are working hard at being the Social Media Specialists of our Mission.

Yes, It is taking all our time to process every video that any missionary wants to post and making sure it falls under the Mission guidelines.

Yes, I Have changed the name from Spiritual Signing to ASL Disciples of Jesus Christ in Riverside County.

Yes,  I have posted more videos, please check Disciples of Jesus Christ in Hemet.

Yes, I so appreciate all the love and support and comments on our social media platforms.

Yes, I am still quarantined, that is all I have to say!

-Elder Vance

Season 8 Episode 1: Cabin Feever

Hello Friends & Family,

I have a new companion! Elder Campbell is from Spokane Washington, he has been out 6 months, and is incredibly funny.

We are getting along very well! We both look forward to helping the mission transition to a more virtual finding experience.

We have seen the amounts of success that we can have, and really hope everyone finds the same!


Unfortunately we are also getting to feel cramped in our apartment so we go outside and walk. Splashing through puddles is highly recommend if you can find a suitably sized one. We know that later on this week when the Facebook Pages go live, we will most likely be constantly busy, and we look forward to it!

Everyone here is wearing masks as recommended. I can only think of 2 other times where seeing everyone in a mask has been acceptable: Comic-Con, and Halloween.



We should be starting all of the missions Facebook pages soon. As of tuesday night they should be live. Elder Campbell  and I are very
excited and will
be busy for the
next week or so, getting everyone adjusted and
screening their
posts (for now).


If you see any cool videos, or have any ideas for social media posts please send them my way!

Elder Campbell and I having some fun studying ASL, no we did not post this on Facebook!

Spiritual Signing our ASL site is doing great and getting lots of activity. Please if you have not yet go to Facebook and check it out
Thank you for all your support.

Here are some of the kind comments that have been left on my latest videos.  They really help make is feel like I am actually getting information out and sharing the Gospel with others.


Also congrats to Elder Larsen and Hallsted for hitting 107K! They made a fantastic video of a song inviting all to "Come unto Christ". (Would highly recommend you check it out if you havent already)

-Elder Vance

Season 7 Episode 6: Social Isolation and social media

Hello Friends and Family! 

Let me start by answering the FAQs (mostly from my mom)

No, I am not sick

Yes, I am still a missionary

Yes, it is boring sometimes

Yes, I have enough food

Missionary life in general has been changing over the past few weeks. Surprisingly, I have found more success now staying inside, than I ever have walking and knocking doors. "How?" you might ask, one simple way, Social media.

I have taken it upon myself to share what God has given me, the gift of hands (NOT TONGUES), and post an ASL video daily. After my first video saw a bit of success, I decided it was a worthy endeavor. After some Portuguese group shared my initial post, and it gained roughly 3K views, I was floored. I frantically thought of new ways I could share, and spread messages. Luckily my amazing family at home provided me with many requests, which I am still striving to fulfill. Most of my posts got around 1K views, and a few comments from Church members (or otherwise) asking for my help in translating something for a Deaf friend. This gave me even more to do! (which helped me escape the clutches of boredom)

I continued this pattern until last thursday, where my post of "If we Love him" defied all my expectations. In the first day it had 10K views and over 1K shares, the following days had the same pattern, and it now has roughly 100,000 views. Messages flooded in from literally across the earth, I've had conversations with people in Scotland, Australia, and I've tried to speak chinese (which didn't work). The capabilities are endless, not just for finding Deaf people, but all the referrals I could be able to send! 

I am very grateful for everyone who shared my posts, and hope they continue to do so! If you have ideas, please send them, I am slightly lacking in the creativity department as of lately.

While calling my parents, we discussed these happenings. We came up with a theory that in the coming days, it would be likely that missionaries were called to proselyte online. I agreed, but didn't expect what happened. 

I got a call Transfer saturday (also conference saturday) and President Hammon asked me to be one of the new "Social Media Specialists" for the mission. There are 6 of us, and we are having a meeting with Salt Lake this tuesday. I know the church is also realizing the potential we have here, as we move toward a new age in missionary work. Even when this is all over, I know that knocking doors will be effective, but I will be a hybrid missionary, for that is one way I can magnify my calling!

Conference was amazing!! I would like to invite all of you to look for the patterns in Joseph Smith's first vision. Think about why he wrote it. Did he do it to brag?  No, he did it so we could follow his example and receive our OWN revelation! How did he do it? I'll let you study and answer it yourself.

Hoping everyone isn't as crazy as I am in Self-Isolation,

-Elder Vance