Season 13 Episode 2: Stay Positive

Hello Friends & Family,

A few things happened this week that I will try to talk about, I am using Google Voice Assistant right now to type out my email and if there are any typos that I blame Google.


This week we got a call from the Mission Medical coordinators and they said that I had taken the wrong test for Coronavirus at see if I was positive but I ended up having to take a second test it was a swab test was honestly did not feel like right having a swab down my throat, but after a few days I got a call saying that I had actually tested positive for Coronavirus. This was not a surprise to me because I had experienced pretty much every symptom that is possible to experience while having a coronavirus. I ended up losing around 5 lb because all I ate was carrots and Broccoli.


Medical staff on the other side of the phone recommended that I say quarantine for at least another ten days because I've been experiencing symptoms for about a week now. medical staff on the other side of the phone recommended that I say quarantine for at least another ten days because I've been experiencing symptoms for about a week now.there's actually pretty funny because I got the call when I was teaching ASL class, and so am I entire class heard that I tested positive and everyone started making jokes about it. It seemed the entire Mission knows about now because I'm one of six missionaries that tested positive for the Coronavirus.


On a side note our friend Beatriz was interviewed for baptism this past Saturday by one of our ASL Elders in training other Aamodt. He did excellent job (I assume because I wasn't actually in the interview) and we found out that Beatrice actually passed her interview and was going to be baptized on the 21st however we decided to postpone that because we will still be in quarantine at that point in time so we postponed it to the 28th and all the branch is very excited to see her enter the Waters of baptism and so are we!


There is also a very very exciting thing that happened this week our friend N attend sacrament meeting over Zoom. that morning we had called the branch president to ask if he had anyone in mind who might be able to fellowship with N to be able to be her friend and she makes a new change and attends Church. He didn't have anyone in mind and neither did we so we mutually agreed to come back after a day or two and ponder the subject to see who might be the best help for our new friend. After our worship service on Zoom we got a call from Sister Smith and she explained that she actually knew N from previously at CSDR (the school for the deaf here), she was very excited that N was learning from the missionaries and attended church and actually asked us if she could join in the lessons with.


We called N and told her about the experience which we had with Sister Smith, she also remembered Sister Smith from CSDR. Nitro also explained that she knew a few more members and that she recently had a call with brother Cochran, the elders Quorum president, about meeting with her with him and the missionaries on Friday to study with us. The surprising thing was that we actually didn't even know that she had set up an appointment by herself with a member! N actually ended up scheduling a few appointments with members and we never had to do it, she just wanted to learn herself and so she decided to set everything up herself!


Our A/C unit is broken again, but luckily It isn't too hot outside at night. However our apartment is 80 degrees right now. Oof


We found out that in order to order another video phone we could actually sign up as a business rather than having to prove that we're deaf or hard-of-hearing. This is excellent news because the other Elders as I type out this email or actually signing up and trying to qualify our business or rather the church to get another video phone in California Riverside.


There are a few other positive coronavirus cases in the Riverside Zone and so we are mostly in Social isolation. The few of us had RX showing symptoms however that should end early next week. It's kind of a bummer because nobody is able to get out and do service over it's kind of cramped up in their apartment, but we'll pull through this. There's a quote that President Watson shares very often and it really has given me strength during these times it is "We have Him, and He has us".

We found out that the new youth 2021 album is releasing a few songs early, we really enjoyed one of them the theme song and we've worked and began translating it for our next SL song post which should be coming out hopefully late this week if not early next week we have the translation finished we're now just practicing coordinating our movements which takes up the brunt of our efforts. It's a bit like coordinating a dance but only with your arms and hands and also a lot of your face which I definitely did not enjoy at the start of my vision but it's become so regular to make very large and grandiose facial expressions. We really do try to do our best for these videos, so we hope you all enjoy them!


That is about it for all the news from California Riverside, but I'm very thankful for all of your prayers and all of your emails!!


-Elder Vance

Season 13 Episode 1: Nerf-Gun Crash and Dash

Hello Friends & Family,

This week has been semi-eventful, however not very entertaining. 

We had 5 stake devotionals this week, 3 on Sunday alone (that was a long night). I was surprised when my Mom joined in the last devotional during my training. Apparently some conversation was being had with her and President Watson, and he sent her the invite and told her to join. Unfortunately she forgot to mute her mic...

There was about 5 seconds of  HOW DO WE RECORD THIS" followed by 3 minutes of me (still giving the training) trying to understand how my Mom got the code for the zoom meeting.

(Also the entire time she was on the meeting, she thought I didn't notice, but the entire stake noticed, and she even got a shoutout by Stake President Wilson)

After these devotionals Elder Hallsted and I finally got home around 10:30 P.M. We were backing into our parking spot, and walking to our apartment, when we spotted a nerf gun over by the trash. 

We looked at each other, then back at the nerf gun. We both had the same idea. We excitedly picked it up, only to see another a few feet from our position. We picked up the next nerf gun and then we found another! This process repeated until we had roughly 20 nerf guns (and not the wimpy small kind, but the HUGE kind).

We have set-up a baptisimal date for Beatriz for the 21st, and we have been working with her so she will be ready for the Interview. Elder Aamodt (ASLder in training) is working on his language skills so he can conduct the interview. Stay tuned for that!

 

My latest post

-Elder Vance

Season 12 Episode 6: Jug fishing

Hello Friends & Family,

There are currently 4 missionaries going home in my apartment, and it is very hard to focus with 8 years of mission experiences/stories floating around the room. I will do my best to write this email, and then try to soak in some of the seniority in the room.

Elder Larsen says hi

Update there are now 8 missionaries finishing their missions, 16 years of experience.

This week we had a zone chat after the district council, we focused on finding methods. We had a short segment from the finding master, Elder Zierenburg. The meeting was successful, as we had every companionship in our zone find at least 1 new person to teach! (Except 2 companionships, but we still love them!)

There are now 10 missionaries soon to go home, 20 years of experience!

We have already discussed plans for the ASL 3 area, we think it would be wise to start them off focusing on YSA work, and give them a few home visits with members we select so they can practice ASL and get a feel for the Deaf culture. Slowly but surely!!

We had a meeting with the stake presidents of California (I think) and Elder Miskin (Area President and member of the Seventy). Because our mission is doing very well with finding over social media, Elder Miskin asked our social media crew to train the stake presidents and share strategies. It was an excellent training, and Elder Miskin shared some things that I really enjoyed, one was an example of fishing VS. Jug fishing.

For those of you who are like me, and don't fish that often you may be asking, "What on earth is jug fishing?"
Regular fishing involves a line and a hook. When the hook/line is not in the water, there is no possibility you can catch fish! However, Jug fishing (Which I've now been told might be illegal) is tying a line (with multiple hooks) onto a milk jug, which has been filled with air. You leave the jug in the water and come back and find multiple fish attached to your line! Facebook work is essentially Jug fishing.
"Missionaries have been wasting time tracting" -Elder Miskin
Everyone who has ever served a mission knows that tracting has NEVER been the most efficient thing to do. It is a constant thing we can do, but not effective. When we post on Facebook, the messages we share stay on the internet, and whether we are on facebook, doing other activities, or sleeping, our posts about Christ and his Gospel are getting attention, and can help us find people who are longing for the Truths of the restored Gospel.

Now all the 15 missionaries brought food into our apartment without any regard to WHOSE apartment they are in! I will therefore end my email, and ask for your prayers that my apartment remain clean. I need them

-Elder Vance

*

Season 12 Episode 5: Windy Week in Riverside

 

Hello Friends & Family,

Hoorah! California is finally cooling down! This morning was a chilly 55 degrees! I have missed cool weather so much!
For P-day we decided to hike Mt. Rubidoux again, our friend Cody invited us also! Previously he has invited us 3 times, but has slept in all 3 times. We were pleasantly surprised to find him waiting for us at the base of the trail! We hiked up to the top with a few others from our zone, and then fully embraced the wind at the summit! (Videos for proof)

After 10ish minutes we decided that we had had enough rocks flung into our mouths and eyes we ran back down the mountain (honestly it's a glorified hill compared to utah)


Also notably, Elder Hallsted and I FINALLY got a Rav4 to drive! We were incredibly excited to switch from our corolla and finally join with the rest of MLC with the Rav4 squadron!


The Miracle of the week was this past sunday. We recently were informed that our in-person church was canceled AGAIN... Back to zoom! Typically we had a Sunday School zoom meeting at 2pm for anyone who wasn't able to attend the earlier sacrament meeting. But with the in-person sacrament meeting being closed, everyone SHOULD be able to attend the meeting over zoom. All of us ASLders didn't know that the later meeting was canceled, and continued to invite friends to both 10am and 2pm church meetings (majority to the 2pm meeting). Sunday morning, we found that there in fact was no meeting for our friends to attend (Surprise!). We quickly snapped into action and attempted to gain approval to host our own worship service so our friends would not be left out. We called the Branch President, and got approval! We then called the second counselor and he agreed to conduct the impromptu meeting. We had 9 friends attend! It was amazing! We all took turns and introduced ourselves. I think this was excellent because now everyone has someone to look forward to seeing at church! "If there is a will there's a way"


Revelation is most commonly found for me while I act. We should not wait for Revelation to come, then and only then agree to act. Rather we should do the opposite and be anxiously engaged in whatever we are doing and continue to work until we are guided by Heavenly Father to continue, or to change our course!
"We cannot steer a parked car"

-Elder Vance

Season 12 Episode 4: Skirmishers of Catan

Hello Friends & Family,

There were few notable events here in the California Riverside Mission, but of such I will freely share!

We had Multi-zones this week. Elder Hallsted and I gave training on how to utilize Family History work alongside social media work. It is incredibly easy to find people to teach, because most everyone has an interest in their family history, and our church just happens to have the largest database of genealogical names in the world! 

So... yeah!

We gave a live-demo on how to login on behalf of someone else, and find their ancestors. 

I think this helped everyone in attendance.

We have been mostly teaching  friends who find us on facebook through one of our  videos.  We have had a lot of success sharing messages and answering questions. Any sometimes finding new friends to teach.  

To explain a little bit of what our teaching experience is like, I'll expound on 1 of our friends

Lz lives in Brazil, she doesn't know ASL, but knows Portuguese Sign Language. Unfortunately neither of us share the same written language, and so we have been using a strange system of translation as follows:

When we don't know a sign in Portuguese, we ask the sisters who speak Portuguese what a word is in Portuguese. 

(These sister missionaries are serving in Boston, the same mission as my cousin Elder Ryder Vance, they had remembered seen one of our videos and contacted us through facebook)

They spell it out to us, we spell it to Lz, then she shows us what the sign is. 

We write it down in the best way we can describe it so we don't forget it. We have taught all but the last lesson this way, using the 60 ish signs we know, we share the Gospel! 

ASL is the only Sign Language mission that the church sends missionaries for. 

In fact the ASL program is less than 50 years old! (I'll fact check later) 

When it comes to Lz, we are literally the only missionaries in the world she can talk with.  

President Watson gave a very inspired training on "deep doctrine theories" and also (my favorite) "Answering the question they should have asked".

To explain the latter, many people ask us questions about very particular principles in the restored church.

 For example:
"Why did the church practice polygamy?"

To the honest seekers of truth, a reply such as this can help them find answers,
"That is an excellent question! That was a revelation given to us to use at a specific time, and under specific circumstances. Revelation comes through a Prophet. Why do you think it would be important to have a Prophet today?"
(Response may vary)

The reasoning behind such an answer is to help our friends understand the core doctrine, rather than worrying about all the extremities. If you find yourself asking such questions, do not worry! It is normal to do so, however I would encourage you to answer the question based on the "branch" leading back to Christ. The most common "Branches" of questions are:
1. Is there a Prophet today?
2. Was Joseph Smith a Prophet?
3. Is the Book of Mormon True?
etc.

Answering the core questions is ESSENTIAL to resolving concerns. If you simply focus on the superficial questions, you will always find more questions that have no value, other than to satisfy a quick concern, and more will arise.
John 15:1,4
"I am the true vine"
"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me"
Christ should be our foundation, not random sticks and twigs of theories that claim to be shoot offs from Christ. Be careful where you climb on this metaphorical tree.

Hopefully nobody got lost in the metaphor. I hope that was more entertaining than Jacob

-Elder Vance

*

Season 12 Episode 3: The Han Dynasty

Hello Friends & Family

Elder Hallsted and I had an interesting experience last saturday as we were finishing up service. 

We found that our keys were no longer in the pocket they should have been, but rather locked in the 

backseat in plain view of our grieving eyes. We had to deliver all the cleaning supplies back to 

downtown Riverside on a deadline. Luckily the Office Elders were in our service group, and they 

quickly rescued us with a spare key taken from the Mission office. 

We also were able to bring 2 friends to an in person Sacrament meeting!! Yes, I said sacrament meeting in person, 

with masks. First one in about 6 months.  a missionary who has not been to church in 6 months is 

generally not recommended.

3 more were able to attend virtually, and all (myself included) were spiritually enlightened! 

It was very nice to be back at the ASL Branch again. It was a little awkward in our sacrament meeting 

to wash hands, put on gloves, and have taped off rows in the Chapel, but I'm sure that God was happy with our 

little gathering! 

President Watson is wanting a 5th ASLder in our apartment for what he says is 

"preparation for future leadership assignments", whatever that means. We are now "Drafting" 

the next missionary to serve in the ASL Branch. There are quite a few who are "fluent", but I beg to differ. 

It is strange how people have a sudden interest in the Language! We will be making our decisions soon.

We started our new series missionaries with out arms with arms.  I am not sure who had the most fun 

filming this...I hope you all enjoy!

*


All is well in Riverside. There is always room for improvement!!

-Elder Vance

Season 12 Episode 2: A Generally good week

Hello Friends & Family,

I love General Conference! I look so forward to hearing the talks and feeling the spirit.
Elder Hallsted and I interpreted all 4 sessions of conference for our friend C who is about 21-22 years old.
C understands simple ASL, so the regular church interpreter confused him. He simply has had no education
what so ever. He was born deaf so his family did not see any reason for an education. He is now going to school
and learning ASL but is about a 4th-5th grade level of education. He is amazing and is learning so much,
he is also teaching us so much! We simplified the talks for him to watch!
I think that helped me understand what the Speaker's focus was, as most of the time the simplified ASL
would leave us repeating many phrases. From what I interpreted, alot of the General Conference
was focused on Jesus... maybe that was just my interpretation :)

I would reccomend re-reading all of the talks. I will also be doing so!


We played frisbee golf this morning, not quite real golf, but I'll take it. Apparently Bees don't really like me,
and as I was about to tee off, one latched onto my ankle and stung me through my sock.
Luckily I was a big boy and only cried for 2 minutes.


We went on exchanges with Canyon Crest and also the Tech elders. Thats about it!
Besides amazing conference!

*

-Elder Vance