Season 3 Episode 6: Triple Play (Season Finale)

Friends & Family,

This transfer is coming to a close, and Elder Hallsted, Larsen and I have been "tripled out", that is some missionary lingo for everyone in an apartment being moved out. Typically it is only "doubled

out" but we are a special case.

 Elder Larsen is training another missionary and is very excited to go to the Tongan ward. I hope to be his companion again someday.
As for the fate of Elder Hallsted and I, we have both been assigned to be trainers!!

Well, by definition, yes, but not really.

Because of our success thus far, President has ended our training early and decided that we will "finish each other's training" this transfer. So, I will just say I am training to feel cool about myself.

Elder Hallsted and I are taking over the entire ASL Area (the entire mission). We are still slightly nervous about our ASL skills, but because all the pressure is on us, hopefully we become a diamond of fluency.

We had one of the craziest lessons, probably of all time this week. An elder from a previous zone, Elder Tellez, had been teaching a family in Spanish, and found out that the son was Deaf. Not only that but his wife was also Deaf! The only snag was that she knew SSL (Spanish sign Language). I have not yet been trained in that language, so I wasn't entirely sure what to do. Luckily her husband (the son) knew ASL and SSL and would translate to his wife. We had what I deemed the "Elder Tellez Tag Team" and met up with him last thursday. Unbeknownst to me, he had prepared to teach the entire lesson in spanish, a language in which I cannot speak nor understand, and i was supposed to translate it into ASL. Luckily we were on an exchange with our zone leader Elder Chase, who knew spanish, so as Elder Tellez taught, he translated to us in english. We then translated to ASL, and the husband translated to his wife in SSL. We taught a lesson using 4 languages. Boom
If any other missionary can top that, have them email me...

This P-day has been a bit crazy, Elder Hallsted and I moved apartments and for strange complications, will not have a VP for possibly 9 days. Essentially halting our ASL work for a bit (except for our previously scheduled lessons). Ugh, the situation as of right now, is not ideal. 

This morning we were doing "Journal signings", basically yearbook signings but for missionaries. I then had a craving for a burger, and we all agreed to go to Mcee Dees (McDonalds). As we ordered and ate, we happened to glance in the corner and see 2 Deaf people having a rather intense conversation. As I finished up my extremely chaotic burger, I determined that if God had put our paths together, I might as well talk to them. Elder Hallsted beat me to it, but I joined him shortly after the exchange started. We talked for a bit and got his VP so we can contact him later (this was before the VP fiasco) and left excitedly.

We also got stopped by a man at Walmart, who had previously been taught by missionaries but had been raised Methodist. He said he always loved to talk with the Elders and occasionally came to our church. We will likely teach him in the upcoming days.
"If you pray for rain, bring an umbrella"
If I am praying for people to teach, I should be ready and able to drop everything and talk to them!!
If you truly have enough faith to pray and ask our Father in Heaven for something, then be prepared to have your prayers answered, otherwise you aren't truly trusting in Him.

During our sacrament meeting, I sang a hymn I have never heard before, and it fits this theme very well.

145
Prayer Is the Soul's Sincere Desire
"Prayer is the soul's sincere desire,Uttered or unexpressed,
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast."
"Prayer is the simplest form of speech

That infant lips can try;
Prayer, the sublimest strains that reach
The Majesty on high.

Prayer is the Christian's vital breath,

The Christian's native air,
His watchword at the gates of death;
He enters heav'n with prayer."

Anyone and everyone can pray, so why doesn't everyone do it?

Some people may not think their prayers are answered. Others may not have the patience for the prayer to be answered in God's time. It is even possible that they are afraid of receiving and answer that will "force them to change".

All of these excuses are simply that, an excuse.

Pray every day. God can and Will answer your prayers!! If you are afraid for an answer, don't be. God wants the best for all his children and will guide us down the path that will lead to true and lasting happiness!

There is no reason you cannot pray

Prayer is simple, prayer is easy, prayer shows our Heavenly Father that we love him and trust him. He will bless us for any and every effort we put forth. The gospel is as simple as that. If you want to be blessed, follow the commandments. One such commandment is to pray.

As my time is brief this P-day, I will not share all my experiences. Maybe next week when I don't have to move.

Thanks for all the support!

-Elder Vance

Season 3 Episode 5: Flirt to Convert

Hello Friends and Family!!

Yet another week has passed. It is that time of the week to be flooded by emails from missionaries.
As per usual, I will share 2-3 stories and then a spiritual thought. Lets get started...

Elder Hallsted and I went on an exchange with our APs (assistant to the President) this week.

Elder Heilbut taught us of "The power-pose". To execute accurately, one must hold either the Book of Mormon, or the Bible with 3 fingers in front of the book. Your fingers should underline the title, or "another testament of Jesus Christ". As you discuss either book, you extend your arms outward either toward those you are talking to, or off to the side (to draw attention to the book).
Let me just say, The power Pose works excellently! 

Elder Bowen (of the seventy) came to our mission, at the same time President Hammon volunteered (I think) our apartment for inspection. Both President Hammon and Elder Bowen walked through our apartment, and even though nothing was wrong, I was still scared that they might find my Space Cat blanket or something strange I had. After we had passed, I found out that Elder Bowen lives on the same street as me from my Home in Utah! There are a large number of General Authorities that live near me.

This past Saturday we went to Tyler Mall, to see if we could find Deaf people. (Saturday is designated as Deaf Day).  When we got to the food court there was a large circle of people using ASL. I was very excited and almost ran to them, I sat down and began conversing with them. After a couple of minutes I was a little disappointed to find out that all of them were not deaf, but actually students in ASL It who were required to go to Deaf Events. Regardless, I wanted to get to know them and see why they wanted to learn ASL. For some reason, when people see Missionaries, they either think we are really young (15-17) or quite old (25-30). I asked them if they had a set number of hours they needed to practice ASL a week.  I then suggested another amazing Deaf event the following day. This Deaf event started at 11:30 and lasted 2 hours, and just happened to be our sacrament meeting. 

After that we had a few girls ask us for our Snapchats. They for some reason wouldn't take a Book of Mormon instead... strange

Spiritual thought:
After we are baptized (with proper Priesthood Authority) we can receive the Holy Ghost. Jesus taught, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:6). Other references of this "second Birth" mentions the "baptism of fire", meaning the cleansing of the spirit.
The Holy Ghost is given to us for a few reasons:
1.Cleanse us
2.Comfort us
3.Guide us
Or as my wise mother put it
CTR: Comfort, Teach, Reveal
The spirit is not something we should occasionally use, or some innate ability we should "tap into". After Baptism, we receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, to ALWAYS be with us. If we live worthily, we will be protected from danger, and comforted in our darkest hours. Tell me that isn't something you want.

I would encourage everyone to truly study and ponder the Sacrament prayers, and why it is so important to have the Holy Spirit to be with us.

Thank Y'all for the love and support!!
-Elder Vance

Season 3 Episode 4: Week #13...Conference and Con-Artists

Hello Friend & Family,

If you haven't already listened to this past session of conference, do so as ASAP !!
Heavenly Father truly loves us and provides to us modern day Prophets and Apostles. They lead and guide this church today! Even though some procedures change, the doctrine we teach is the same! 

Truth NEVER changes, no matter how hard you try!

God has given us leaders in the past and will continue to do so until Christ Himself comes to rule the earth.

1 Nephi 10:18
"For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him."

Even though all the talks were amazing, there was one in particular that stood out.
If you know me, I'm sure you can guess why

Elder Uchtdorfs talk in which the story of Bilbo Baggins was heavily referenced was my favorite! 

It was so funny to hear an apostle talk about one of my favorite stories, in addition to the inspired lesson he taught.

If for some reason there is a Gospel themed hobbit movie(s) being made, I would like to submit a few titles of my own design;

The Prophet: a expected journey

The Lord of all things: the Tower of Babel
(More titles pending)

If anyone has ever had the privilege of having a religious discussion with my Dad, I'm sure you have realized how often he references Star Wars in relation to the Gospel. Both he and myself thoroughly enjoy using Yoda's teachings about the force and apply them to how we can exercise faith.
The Hobbit reference, even though in my opinion, is not the pinnacle of analogies, was very happily accepted!

One theme I saw this conference was that the Lord prepares A way, not THE way. 

There is not 1 single way that Heavenly Father prepares for us. The example used was that of Nephi, Moses, and the Brother of Jared. All had the same task, to cross a large body of water to a promised land. Yet all of them handled the situation uniquely. We all have the same goal (I hope) of returning to Live with God again, but everyone has different lives to live, different problems to deal with, and a different path to the celestial kingdom.
Even though we may go our separate ways, the covenant path is the same. We can still help others no matter where they are, so long as we ourselves are in good standing with the Lord.

Another Emphasis was largely on the Youth of the church. Whether the policy change on the age/gender of baptismal witnesses, or the leadership changes among YM and YW alike, the Lord has some big plans for the youngsters.
I however am no longer considered a youth, so I feel left out.
I am joking, but am anxiously awaiting more info that will be given in these upcoming months.

To explain the latter title of my letter, I will begin with my day last Friday. We had another "Trainer/trainee" meeting, and President Hammon gave us all an invitation to pray that our image (personal appearance or church buildings) may be seen and motivate people to talk to us, and not vice versa. 

I took up the challenge and prayed that I might find someone who sought us out. Nothing happened that day, until at 9:30 pm we got a call on our video phone (VP) from what we determined to be a "Golden Investigator". She said she had been waiting 5 years to be baptized and was 21 years old, had recently moved out (her mom wouldn't let her be baptized) and was ready now. Needless to say, we were all very excited to get this call! I wrote hurridley in my journal about this miracle we had witnessed!

Then the bad news came...
Elder Larsen recognized the name that appeared on our VP. He searched through his old emails and found her name, it was attached to a warning from other ASL missionaries about how this lady pretended to be a interested person and how she would waste missionaries time and eventually try to get them to meet in person, only to have her never show up and ultimately con the missionaries out of their time.
We found this out, and were quite frustrated and frankly irritated. We concocted a plan to see if she truly was lying, and put it in action the very next day.
Without going into detail, she failed every one of our "lie detecting tests" and we determined to tell her how we felt.
I hope she can learn from her experience and understand that it really is rude to give people false hope.
If you want more details about that story, feel free to Email me.


It has been a good week, with quite a bit of success. We recently got a Legitimate referral from other ASL missionaries that we will investigate tomorrow. Fingers crossed it isn't the same deciteful lady.


A few invitations from me:

Listen or Re-listen to Michelle Craig's conference talk
(All recent talks are on "churchofjesuschrist.org")

Also Elder Uchtdorf's talk

Please email me your takeaways! 

Know that you have a Father in Heaven who truly loves you! He wants you to be happy, not sad. He gives us guidance so we can be happy! He knows what will protect us from the adversary.


Thankyou for all the support!

🤟
-Elder Vance

Season 3 Episode 3: Week #12...Snow White and the Seven Deadly Sins

Hello Family & Friends,

I had one wacky week full of fun and zany adventures.
It all started last Tuesday, September 24th.
We were going throughout the day and seeking with faith, we left our area we were searching in and went to teach one of our friends. We began teaching the Plan of Salvation, with a emphasis on the Fall. I felt that it was important that we discuss how the Fall of Adam and Eve was actually a good thing for us, and allows us to do so many great things!

However our friend had other ideas...
He stopped our lesson abruptly and asked us,
"But did Adam and Eve really fall?"

We were all visibly confused

He continued,
"Because, that old lady with a wart on her nose had an apple!

Like the one from snow white, and that can't be a coincidence"

A bit of background, our friend smelled slightly like weed (which happens more than you would think) and started the lesson by saying how it was okay to lie about small things, 

"like if I was to say I didn't smoke earlier today, that's okay right?"

We of course answered "No, any lie is bad", but it wasn't until later in that lesson that I had utmost assurance that he in fact was high. Some of you (mom and dad) may be thinking, why are you teaching someone like that? He always tells us of how he feels good when we teach him, and is avidly interested in receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost. I know that if anyone has that desire for truth, regardless of where they come from or what they have done, has the same opportunity as even the Leaders of our church to feel the Spirit. No one is exempt from Gods Love.

Regardless, that lesson was hard for me to teach without smiling, whether from the Joy of the Spirit, or the strange stories coming from our friend.

Another great story from this week, Wednesday September 25th, we had a request to give a blessing to someone in the Hospital. We had no information and had never met the Woman. We went to the Hospital and got to have reserved "Clergy member only" parking. We also got a cool wristband and took a trek around the hospital to find this lady. Once we found her, we walked into the room. The spirit was palpable, I wish I could claim to have brought the spirit, but I feel as though it was the veil that was now close in the room. 

We were talking with the woman's family, and found that one (I think) of her daughters had served a ASL mission and that the Lady whom we were blessing was actually Deaf.

We had not known this beforehand, neither did the Sisters in our mission who referred her to us. I see many "coincidences" in my mission. The Lady was heavily in sleep, but we continued to lay our hand upon her head and bless her. We signed the prayer just in case she was watching, and then left to go to another appointment. Both of my companions had a similar moment of recognition of the spirit and we all discussed the experience afterword.

One last story, we often do service for a company called "Keep Riverside Clean and Beautiful" and pick up garbage along streets. There was a large event where 500 volunteers gathered and spread out all across this county. We got free T-shirts and also free lunch!

It probably doesn't sound very exciting, but you can find some very strange stuff while picking up trash. 

 So far I have found

-1 Laptop


-1 Phone


-4 full tires


-several syringes


And a new addition


-a very decayed dog

I took a picture of it, so be warned. It was rather spooky. Just a pile of hair and teeth. Eww.























I have a bit of homework for anyone who made it this far, read President Hinckley's talk from April 1971, titled "Except the lord build the House".


I stumbled across this talk, and it really changed my perspective on companionship. I should never speak accusingly, but rather softly. Anyone who can speak softly is in less danger of a aggravated response from whom they are speaking to. If you want people to understand you, or truly listen to you, speak softly.

Another talk for homework is Elder Uchtdorfs recent talk "Missionary work: Sharing what is in your heart" from April 2019.


Anyone who is willing to do this bit of studying, please email me your thoughts and insights, I'd love to hear what you learned from them!

That just about sums up my week, thanks for all the support!!

-Elder Vance

 

Some beautiful P-day hiking and fun!

Season 3 Episode 2: Week # 11...Take us to Deaf-Con 1

Friends & Family,

I've been waiting so long to use that joke. Yes, I went to  Deaf-Con 1 and it was awesome!
This week we were able to go the the National Deaf Convention this weekend. It wasn't as large as I had hoped, but it was very cool to use sign language that much! I got a few souvenirs including a nice ILY hat. We handed out pass along cards and hopefully they will turn into some new investigators.

Elder Hallsted and I were called to give a talk this past Sunday, we both talked about the commandments. The emphasis I had was that each commandment has promised blessings. For example, those who keep the word of wisdom are promised to have greater strengths both in the body, and against temptations from the adversary. God loves us and wants to bless us, it is our agency that blocks those blessings. To better illustrate the analogy, look at the Inspirational Message from Elder Uchtdorf, called "A shower of Heavenly Blessings".

I went on an exchange this week with Elder Chase. Elder Hallsted and I went to his area (Chinese/YSA). There was some interesting people to say the least. One man we taught was very skeptical of other religious groups and didn't want to talk with us at first. He called us, and when we asked where he was (because he was late for our meeting) he said "Look behind you". We turned around to find him in a black hoodie (hood up) and on a balcony looking over at us. The scene was a little funny at first, but as we began to talk with him, it became clear that he really felt uncomfortable investigating other religions. I hope I calmed his nerves, and we gave him a book of Mormon. I emphasized the fact that we wanted any choice he makes to be truly HIS choice, and not a choice made from an external source. God gives us agency, so that we may be agents for ourselves, to act for ourselves, not to be acted upon.

This is an introduction video to let people know who we are.  Since you cannot use voice inflections, you have to use facial expressions to show the emotion in what you are saying.

I finished the Book of Mormon this week. It could have possibly been the first and only time so far that I have read it cover to cover. If you have not done so, please do. 

Elder Hallsted has done more sleep shenanigans. For example, one morning Elder Larsen's phone went off (we use his phone for our alarm) and we heard it very faintly. After further investigation Elder Larsen found his phone in our couch. No one had moved it there, but we had heard Elder Hallsted shuffling around last night. After a short laugh we all went to check our own phones, only to find they were all missing! We looked in the same couch and found all of them. For some reason Elder Hallsted had felt the need to hide our phones as he slept-walk. 

A different morning i woke up to him exclaiming "They are coming, we need to hide". I pried open my eyes and peered over my bed to see him face down and halfway underneath his bed.

An important lesson that I learned is that at every rejection, I am drawing closer to my Savior. I am beginning to see a glimpse of what he felt. Rejection also strangely motivates me to push further and find more people to teach. I know Heavenly Father has prepared people to hear the Gospel, and if I continue with faith, I will find them. 

My invite for any readers this week is to recognize each and every challenge as a way to grow and as always, read from the Book of Mormon. Study the word of God, it can and WILL bless your lives.

Thank you for the notes!

-Elder Vance

Season 3 Episode1: Week # 10... "new boot goofin"

Hello Friends & Family,

To illustrate why I chose that title.
If I haven't mentioned it already, we often do service at this warehouse called
 "Soles 4 Souls", a non-profit organization that donates shoes around the globe. We help organize the warehouse, and sort shoes. Because we volunteer there so much, some missionaries have traded their shoes in for some other shoes. I decided to do the same and found some very good work boots, in addition to some new basketball shoes. I later came to find out I had 2 new pairs of shoes that cost roughly $150 each! I did not know they were expensive, I just thought they looked cool and now I'm very glad I traded my shoes in!

Prior to my entering the MTC, I made a goal to understand my Savior more. I would study books about his life and ministry, and hopefully grow to understand him and feel closer to him in the process. I have been studying "Jesus the Christ" by James Talmage in addition to "The Infinite Atonement" by Tad R. Callister. Both are exceptional books written by very well versed authors. However, it was the Book of Mormon that has thus far offered my greatest insight. While studying 4th Nephi, I came across a rather profound verse.

4 Nephi 1:31

"Nevertheless, and notwithstanding all these miracles, the people did harden their hearts, and did seek to kill them, even as the Jews at Jerusalem sought to kill Jesus, according to his word"

Luckily there is no one trying to kill me (I hope), but there are people who attempt to scare me and/or discourage me from the work of the Father. 

As I go out and share the message of the restoration and of the Plan of Salvation, I am experiencing a very slight glimpse of what Christ Experienced. 

If I truly want to learn more about Christ, I must follow his example and do the things he did, to share the truth and love the people. Even in rejection am I drawing closer to my Savior, for then I know the sadness he must have felt. 

The bottom line is, if you want to learn and draw closer to Jesus Christ, follow his example!

For example, many LDS stakes have "Pioneer Trek" to give the youth an appreciation of what the Pioneers went through. Similarly we have 2 year missions, where we go throughout the world and try to share the Joy we have felt by living the Gospel. 

I am in no way claiming to have the same experiences as Jesus did, but I am saying that we can all begin to understand him by going about our Father's work, just as he did.

You really don't need a calling or a name tag to do the work. The only things you need are a broken heart and Contrite spirit. You must be willing to listen to the Holy Ghost, and his guidance. 

D&C 4:3

"Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work;"

Don't wait for the call. You already have it

The mission field has been very enlightening and I hope my ramblings somehow help people to have the motivation to share truth.

I love you all!! Thanks for the letters and Emails! 🤟

-Elder Vance

Week # 9... Politics and the Priesthood

Hi Friends & Family,

Let me just start off by saying, I love this mission!! To see people progress in the Gospel and come to feel the peace that comes from the Atonement of Jesus Christ is very rewarding. Our missionary purpose is to invite ALL to come unto Christ.

I have a very cool story from this week. A bit of background information. Deaf people (in Riverside) typically live together because it is hard to find employment, but with the Government sending them money they all help out and pay for a house. This being the case, we happened to teach someone who lived with a few other Deaf people.

We were teaching Carla (her parents are deaf) and a man who lived there (Glen) would occasionally shuffle in. And I do mean shuffle, you can always tell where he is in the house by the sound of flip flops dragging across the floor. Anyway, Glen would occasionally walk in to say hi, and we would chat when we weren't teaching a lesson. We invited him to join us in the lesson as well, but he always declined. I was always a bit sad when he said no, but it never changed my perspective of him. He always love to talk with us and helps us find Deaf events to attend so we can find more people to teach.

This week we were teaching Carla and preparing her for baptism. Carla went to go take a (video) call, and Glen shuffled-in and we started talking about the upcoming "Deaf-Con". He then started talking about politics, then how Satan influences the world. Then onto his study in the Bible which we didn't know he read. He shared with us Revelations 12. He didn't know what it meant and wanted to see if we knew. I never read Revelations, but for some unknown reason I had studied that specific chapter in the MTC. My Bible is essentially unmarked-up except for my annotations in that chapter having studied it at the MTC. Crazy (non) "coincidence" right? So, I shared my understanding of that chapter with Glen as well as the chapter footnotes and study cross references we have, then explained how it also relates to the Book of Mormon, especially Nephi chapters 8 and 11. Both the chapter in Revelations and the chapters in Nephi discuss the coming of Christ and the Iron rod. I highly recommend you read or re-read those 3 chapters because they have some very cool stuff. After I shared what I had learned, Glen was interested in what else the Book of Mormon had to offer. So, we left him with a paper copy of the Book of Mormon in addition to teaching him how to get the ASL addition on his phone.

How does my story apply to your life?

We must be patient with everyone we meet. Their interests and will doesn't always align with missionaries, but if we treat them with genuine love, they will eventually feel the pure love of Christ and desire to learn more. As missionaries we are representing Christ, and we are definitely far from perfect. One of Christs attributes that I admire most is his ever present love. 1 John 4:19 "We love him, because he first loved us" Christ is always there, always ready to embrace us with open arms! He has always loved us, and always will! He is ever-ready to take upon him your burdens and lighten your load, but you must first turn to him.

I love how simple our Primary songs put it;

I am trying to be like Jesus,
I'm following his ways,
I'm trying to love as he did
In all that I do and say
I try to remember the lessons he taught,
Then the holy spirit enters into my thoughts saying,
"Love one another as Jesus loves you,
Try to show kindness in all that you do,
Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,
For these are the things Jesus Taught"

When Jesus was asked, "what is the greatest commandment?" He replied "Love thy God... love thy neighbor" (Matthew 22:36-40) This is a Gospel of Love.

Be patient with all thy fellow mankind. If you keep loving them, they will come around. At the end of the day, we are all Children of our Heavenly Father no matter what we have done that day. Treat everyone with the respect that you would want yourself. No matter the background. No matter the religion. No matter their actions. We are commanded to love everyone. Grudges primarily hurt the one(s) harboring them.

Thank y'all for the many emails and prayers!
-Elder Vance

The biggest temptation after a year of swim training  2 times a day and  is the pull of wanting to dive into the water and not being able to...