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I am serving a mission as a sister missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for a period of 18 months. I am serving in the Spain Barcelona Mission and I am speaking Spanish. I reported to the Madrid Missionary Training Center on May 13th, 2014, and I will return home November of 2015. I love each of you with all my heart and I hope to hear from you throughout this life-changing experience and journey.


Sunday, October 4, 2015

Final Chapter: Make It Count



Transfers this week … and this is my last transfer! Hermana Gutoff is leaving Badalona … so sad, I love that girl so much! She is headed to Catarroja and she is going to do an incredible job there! I'm so proud of her and how much she has grown. She's a champ and she has taught me so much. My new companion is Hermana Ward from Blanding, Utah. She is adorable and super-fun; I know she and I are going to have a blast. Badalona has miracles around every corner, nook and cranny! We're here to find ‘em … I’m so excited!

This weekend is General Conference for the church, both Saturday and Sunday. It's going to be amazing … I always try to go into it with questions on my mind and in my heart. We are promised that we will receive answers and revelation from God. I know our prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and the Quorum of Twelve Apostles are called of God and are inspired. You will hear and feel things in conference that will be applied specifically to your life. It's the best! Listen to their words and to the spirit. God will help you make decisions in your life and show you what to do. Be humble and prayerful, and you’ll love it. All of the sessions can be found on www.lds.org.

I just want to share something with you. I want to give this last month and a half of my mission literally everything I've got! My sister had an experience during one of her last interviews in the mission, and she sent me this:
"Soeur Vance, you have been running a marathon. You have been giving it your all. But, what happens at the end of a marathon?" I went on to explain that the runners, completely deflated and exhausted and dragging, just trying to keep going. She then told me of a story of two brothers in her family who ran a marathon together. They stayed in close range with one another the entire time. Soeur Poznanski stood near the finish line with about 100m to go, and just saw these men pale in the face, looking sickly and heaving from exhaustion. She was worried that they were even going to collapse before they made it to the finish line! Then she saw something that has yet to leave her mind or heart. As these two brothers hit the 50m line, they turned to each other, smiled, and set off sprinting. In spite of their extreme fatigue and failing muscles, these two brothers sprinted through the finish line. They claimed their personal victory of giving it their all, up until the end!!! All I could think of at that point was Soeur Wynn and me, and our efforts to do EVERYTHING we can, to give it our all, up until the day we step on that plane."

I feel the exact same Madeline. I know this is the Lord's work and we are so very blessed to be a part of it. I love this gospel and I love my mission with all my heart. I wouldn't trade it for anything! Let us move forward with faith and change lives!

Hermana Vance

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