Just Grab His Hand

Hola otra vez!!! Como esta!? This week was a great, but weird, week. Hermana Reid had to leave Tuesday night for a sister training leader meeting/intercambios in Barcelona, and then I had to go to Barcelona for passport paper work on Thursday morning, and then return late Thursday night and all sorts off traveling. It was crazy, but all went well.

We are teaching a 70-year-old Catholic Spaniard woman named Matilde. She can hardly walk because she has really bad knee problems, and she only about 3 teeth on her top row! She is just the cutest old lady ever! She was on our ward list, so we thought she was a less-active member, but we found out that she actually is not a member. She was only on the list because her daughters were blessed in the church as babies and her former husband was a member. Long story short, she is just incredible. She has been praying and reading every single day. She has such a strong testimony of the love that her Father in Heaven has for her. She has told us about all sorts of difficult and bad things that have happened in her life, but because of her faith and the power of repentance, she knows her potential and her purpose here. She is planning on being baptized on the 16^th of August, so please keep her in your prayers!

The hermanas in my piso and I were talking about the fact that sometimes in life we feel sorry for the "bad guy", whether it is in movies or stories or even in real life. We talked about how often no one ever gives them a 2^nd chance and no one tries to understand THEIR story. Some people never let them progress, or never let them forget their sins. Even if they want to begin trying to use repentance and the Atonement in their lives, some people are constantly reminding them of their flaws, and they NEVER let them reach their potential … the potential that God sees in each and every one of us. I am not supporting their wrongdoings, nor am I saying that we should completely dismiss all of the things they have done, but if they have the desire to change, let them. HELP THEM. Get out of the way and don’t hold them back. Get over any grudges you may have and show them that there is hope; and that Christ NEVER gives up on ANY of us. It doesn’t mean you have to be best friends with them, trust them right away or completely let them back into your life, BUT let them breathe and give them a chance. Offer them an opportunity to come back. How many chances does our Heavenly Father give us each and every single day? Encourage them and show them the way to be better and come unto Christ.

Hermana Munns told us a story about a painter who painted beautiful artwork of the life of Jesus Christ. He was working on the painting of The Last Supper. He would go around his town and pick out faces of people he wanted each apostle and Jesus Christ to look like in the painting. He had ALL of the faces picked out but one … Judas, the apostle who betrayed the Redeemer of the World. He could not find the right face, so he went to a nearby prison and tried to find a face there. He looked in every cell and still couldn’t find one. When he got to the last cell, he saw a man … dirty, sad and broken from the world. He saw his face and instantly knew he would be perfect. He asked the man if he could use him for a painting … if he could use him as Judas. The solemn man looked up with tears in his eyes and said "You don´t remember me do you?" The painter was confused. The man went on to tell him that about 10 years earlier, he had used his face for another one of his paintings … a painting of the Savior.

This story brought tears to my eyes, and made me think about how EVERYONE has "good" in them. At times it becomes hidden and buried with our mistakes and wrong choices, but we can’t EVER forget how much our Heavenly Father loves us. He loves every saint and every sinner just the same. Every saint has a past, but every sinner has a future; which direction are you going? It lies on our shoulders every day to become better, as Christ helps to carry our burdens. Don’t worry about what others think; they have no right to judge you, as only God can do that with you. I encourage you all this week to look at your life, and look at the little things you can change to, little by little, come unto Christ. That is all He asks, and all He wants. He wants us to come home, to Him. If you have been offended by someone or feel like all hope is lost or that you have nowhere to go, you are wrong. Your Father in Heaven is reaching out to you, and you just need to grab His hand.

I love you all; and so does your Heavenly Father! Have a magnificent week!

Te amo para siempre!

Hermana Vance

 

Who Does This?

The days seem long sometimes, but the weeks just fly by! We had some great and fun experiences this week! One of our investigator families had a couple birthdays in the family … the mom (Ana) was having her birthday and their little girl (Nicole) was having her 11^th birthday as well. Hermana Reid and I just love this family, but we weren´t sure if they were doing anything specific for Nicole, so we wanted to do something fun for them. On Monday we bought a bunch of decorations and balloons for Nicole. We got them ice cream and we surprised them by showing up with it all! The parents, Ana and Abi, were so grateful, and all of the kids had the cutest, biggest smiles on their faces. It was a sight to see! We did a similar thing on Wednesday for Ana’s birthday. We bought Ana a cake and cut out all kinds of hearts and wrote on them to stick all over her door! We had very little time to complete this surprise … it HAD to be good and it HAD to be a surprise! Here in Spain you can´t get into an apartment building unless you have a key or you ring someone´s timbre and they let you in. Hna. Reid just wanted to call Abi to have him let us in, but there was NO way I was letting that happen! It HAD to be a surprise for EVERYONE! Next thing I know, I am hurtling myself over the fence, shirt and all, to get in! We were laughing so hard, especially when I got over and my purse got hooked on the fence and was nearly choking me! Haha, after I did that, I was able to let Hna. Reid in as well. We quickly and quietly stuck all of the hearts on her door and put all of the candles in the cake and were about to knock on the door when we both thought, "We can’t go in with unlit candles!" So we snuck back out, but we didn’t have time to buy a lighter or matches. I immediately began looking for ANYONE who was smoking! Haha, we stopped this one lady and asked to borrow her lighter! She actually just gave it to us! So we went back, and over the fence I went again! We lit the candles and in we went, singing “Feliz Cumpleaños”!  Ana absolutely loved it and thanked us so much for everything! She got a little choked up and was so happy that we came! It was so fun and SO worth it!

Somehow I ended up singing a Spanish hymn in church on Sunday, with a woman named Morelia. I don’t even know what happened! One time at her house we were just joking around singing, but apparently she later asked the bishop if we could sing together in church. All I know is that this past Sunday I was called up with her to sing! What!? Haha, it was actually a lot of fun and went pretty well! Crazy.

Last Friday we were able to do a service project at this woman´s house. Her sister had moved out of the house and she had to sell it for her. She was really stressed and overwhelmed about it, so we offered to help. We helped move furniture and we painted almost all of the walls in the house together! It was so fun! We were there from about 11am to 4pm … a very long, but great, day! She even gave us lunch … sardines and cookies! That’s a first! They were pretty good though … who knew!?

There are so many new things here I would have never done or tried on my own. If someone had told me a year ago that I would be in the middle of Valencia doing things like teaching a gypsy family how to speak English by showing them their "Head, shoulders, knees and toes", spontaneously singing Spanish hymns I don’t know in church, reading the Book of Mormon in Urdu with a Muslim Pakistani man named Farooq, or comforting Nigerian women and giving them my 19-year-old advice on their family and financial problems … I don’t know what I would have thought. This time last year I was with my family, I had just graduated high school, I was having a fun summer and getting ready for college. It was all about me. But that´s not how everything is supposed to be.

I realize I haven’t been on my mission that long, but I have just been thinking a lot about it. A mission is one of the hardest, weirdest, most physically, emotionally, and spiritually daring things I have ever done thus far. Thinking about it … who does this? What 18 or 19 year-old does this? Why, at this very moment, would about 88,000 young people drop everything and leave for 18 months or 2 years to go all around the world and serve complete strangers? Why do we do it? Because the gospel is true … because it is TRUE. This isn’t something we did on a whim. This has been one of the most rewarding and amazing experiences of my life. I know the gospel of Jesus Christ has truly been restored and can be such a blessing to God’s children. In the words of Elder Holland, "This is not a cunningly devised fable. I have not given my life because of some story. This is the kingdom of God on Earth." I know this to be true, and I will spend the rest of my life sharing and living that truth.

Hermana Vance

Stand Guiltless Before Him

Another great week in Valencia, and I hit the two month mark on my mission! Time if flying, but I feel great! Hermana Reid and I are able to run every morning and it feels SO good, especially because people feed us a TON here! We went to this African house and they said they were feeding us spaghetti. I love spaghetti, so I was SO excited. They asked if we ate a little or a lot, so to be safe, we said a little. The woman came out with this HUGE plate for each of us! The noodles were literally hanging off the sides! Hna Reid looked over at me and said, "Yep, you gotta eat it all. Otherwise she will hate you forever." All I know is that through the last 20 bites I thought I was going to pop! The next day we were eating and I took a bite of this chunk of meat and it was super chewy. I eventually asked what is was, and the woman said "corazon". Uhh, heart?!?! Heart of what!?! Luckily, I gulped it down with a full glass of water. Haha, some crazy experience, but overall the food here is really amazing. I am trying all sorts of new things and (most of the time) I love it.

I think my Spanish is getting better, slowly but surely … poco a poco right? The missionaries here tell me that my Spanish is much better than theirs was when they first came out. That’s hard to believe, because they all sound fluent now, but I continue to be hard on myself because I want to get so much better and faster, so that I can communicate with these sweet people here in Spain. Patience is a virtue … I can testify of that.

I was able to sing with Hna Reid and two elders at a baptism this past Saturday. We sang “O My Father”, but to the melody of “Come Thou Fount” (arrangement by Sally DeFord). It sounded so beautiful sung as a quartet, and everyone was in tears. My soul delighteth in the song of the heart always!!

On Saturday we were also invited to a 9-year-old’s birthday party. Haha, it was totally random and we hardly even knew this girl or her family, but it was fun. The little girl was jamming out to music and all of a sudden I heard the soundtrack from the Disney movie “FROZEN” come on, and I freaked out! My companion hasn’t seen that movie and doesn’t even know what it is, so I was just in my own world! It was the best, and it made my day!!

It really was a miracle that we were able to be there. This woman is a less active member of our church who hasn’t let any missionaries visit her in years. She said she felt so strongly to let us in a few days earlier, and that she loves the spirit we bring and wants to start coming back to church! We were able to share a message about Jesus Christ and talk about how important He is in all of our lives. We showed her the video, “Gracias a Ël” (“Because of Him”) on www.lds.org (see the link below). She said she could feel the love of the Savior SO strong in that moment. I bore testimony to her that she is a daughter of God and that her Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love her so much. All they want is for her to come back and to, once again, know her purpose here. Our Heavenly Father wants her to know in her heart that no matter what she has done in her life, she will never go too far past the reach of the Atonement of Christ. My testimony of Jesus Christ has grown immensely over these past two months … it’s difficult to even describe. Our MTC president once shared with us a quote from Bruce R. McKonkie, where he said, "When I die and meet God and Jesus Christ, when I touch the prints in his hands and feet, I will not know any more than I do now that … he is the beloved son of the almighty God, the Savior and redeemer of the world." Elder McKonkie died about a week after that statement, and it really made me reflect on my own testimony. I want to strengthen it so that one day I too can say that I know Jesus is the Christ, as surely as the day I meet him face to face. I want to be able to say on that day, as I stand before His feet, that I did all I could to help bring others to Him and will hope that He is proud of me.

“And I saw that I must soon go down to my grave, having been wrought upon by the power of God that I must preach and prophesy unto this people, and declare the word according to the truth which is in Christ. And I have declared it in all my days, and have rejoiced in it above that of the world.

And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen.” Enos 1:26-27

I know our Savior loves each and every one of us. He wants us all to return to live with Him and our Heavenly Father forever. What can YOU do each and every day to draw closer to Him, so that at the end of your days, you can stand guiltless before your king? I challenge you all this week to do all you can to come unto Christ and become perfected through Him.

https://www.lds.org/youth/video/because-of-him?lang=eng

Love you all, forever and always …

Hermana Vance