Week #5 ~Full of THINGS!

Hola,

This week was full of things!

We also received our flight plans for Argentina! I am leaving on Aug 1. at 9 in the morning.   I have a lay over in Atlanta Georgia and then straight down to Bahia Blanca. The whole trip is about 18 hours of total flight time and about a 12 hour bus ride.  I here the Comodora mission has a 30 hour bus ride, so I am glad for what I have.  I am bummed that I am missing Jake by one day!

In our last devotional we had the Nashville tribute band come and gave us a concert it was really cool and they were not to bad! I quite enjoyed them. 

I am learning so much Spanish its kind of amazing how much you learn when that's all you focus on it every day for five weeks. My companion and I are great friends it’s like we have know each other for years. We work great

together and have a super great time teaching lessons to our investigators. We finished up our last investigator meetings and all of our TRC members. It’s  so hard when the teacher says in 5 min you have two lesson you have to teach. I am assuming that happens a lot  in the field, where you have to teach with little to no prep time.  I am learning to embrace it though.

I am loving the atmosphere here at the MTC, I have never had the companionship of the Holy Ghost this strong before its amazing! I am excited to get in Argentina and start His work.

Love Elder Vance

Had to go to the Orthodontist to get retainer work done and stopped for last American SLURPEE, Yum!

Week #4 ~Three hours with Elder Bednar!

Hola!

I have survived another week here at the old CCM. I am learning so

much knowledge here I and I am loving every min of it! I am semi-comfortable here now, just in time to leave for Argentina. I am doing good,  I was a little home sick 2 days ago but I am working hard and its hard to be both homesick and working hard at the same time. I have lots of responsibility's and a vigorous Spanish schedule but I am making it work some how!

During our last devotional Elder Bednar came and had a devotional that lasted 3 hours it was so amazing! He had a Q&A session that was so GREAT!

I have been told a maybe that I will depart Utah on Aug 1 or 2 we won’t

know till 7 days before the departure. I hope it is on Aug 2 so I can see Jake before we both leave.

I have received everyone dear elders and I love getting them so much! 

They are so great!  They help me so much!   I love getting all the emails that everyone sends me. It really lets me know how much support I have back home so…. THANK YOU!

My companion and I have completed giving all the lessons in Spanish! We

are a great team! We set up our lessons like a volleyball play. We

call it the bump, set, spike. Where we will pass it off to each other

in a lesson then the commitment part is the spike when, we smash it

down in his court with no hesitation. 

I get asked about my district, I have 12 elders and 4 hermanas.  In our district we have a goal where its only Spanish until we retire to our casa at night. It’s tough but it’s a good goal to hit each day. My companion and I are asked to teach priesthood almost every week and its kind of funny we are the only repeat teachers in the whole zone. How fun!

I am grateful for this opportunity to serve my Father In Heaven.  I love you all and am thankful for the support you give with each letter! 

Love Elder Vance

My class room

Week #3 ~English Fast

Hola,

Hows it going? I am doing very well! I have the exact same schedule

everyday and very routine but,  I love routines they are so nice and

easy to follow. My companion and I are teaching lots of lessons now

almost 2 or three lessons a day varying from the fist lesson all the

way to follow up to baptism. It’s hard to remember all of what each

lesson includes, but the Spanish is coming along pretty well. This

Sunday I got to conduct the music and it was quite the experience. It

turns out that I am pretty poor at it. Me amigo Elder Crawford was

sitting in the back of the room by where I was supposed to be seated

and was conducting from the back of the chapel and I mimic his every

move. I could trust his maestro skills because he is a music major and

loves the saxophone like Tyson. I Love getting everybody emails and

Dear Elders they make my day so much better even if its just a few

sentences it truly helps.  We had a English fast the other day where the

whole day none of us could speak any English. It actually wasn't that

hard it was pretty fun cause someone would slip up and everybody

would say "no hablo Inglés" it was super beneficial for me. One of

my favorite days here and also a sad one is when the elders from your

zone ship out. The reason its fun is that none of them bring there

toys or food with them and they all bring it to me and my companion.

We currently have about 6 balls and a few Nerf guns and lots of those

poppers its and really weird random toys. But it makes going back to el

cribo way funner.

-Love Elder Vance

 Cookie from the Peacocks!  Such a nice surprise!

Week#2 ~Amazing Gifts

Hello All,

My week consists of going to meetings and consulting with others

companions in my district about there hardships with their companion.  

It’s really strange to have new priesthood responsibility's through being district leader that I have never had before.  I am looked to you for guidance about dealing with your companion and how to increase their spiritual and literal intellect. Even though majority of the time I have no idea what to even advise or offer .(i.e. how to get my companion to have the same mind set on certain things.) But I enjoy having a elevated task to push me to be more then just a standard me. 

My companion is such a great elder, he knows exactly what to say when I don't in a lesson and vise verse. We are spending a lot of time learning from teaching foe-investigators the missionary lessons in Spanish. I am having a great time learning this new language. Its quite a task learning a new language this fast but so far I have had mild success.  Yesterday, I taught a amazing lesson all in Spanish with out any paper to instruct me on what to say. The ability to comprehend and speak is a

amazing gift that is given so quickly here.  

Elder Goodrich and I just received two more investigators

because of our Spanish level and are giving them the lessons which is

hard, but also its quite convenient to have them all at the same

lessons all around the same time.

We have a gymnasium here and it could possible my favorite time of day going there to lift and run.

I love the packages. I would like protein please, it’s hard to eat like I know that I need to when I have like a hundred cookies around me all the time.  I like the jerky that was really nice thanks. Also, thanks for sending me all those dearelder.com letters it really lifts my spirits each day to get to read stuff from home.  

I miss all you guys to a lot.  I have been doing really good about being home sick.. well compared to everyone here I have been. I am still excited to get out to Argentina. 
I cant wait until then.

 - Love Elder Vance