Lighthouse In The Night

Hello family and friends! I hope everyone is doing great and ready for some warm weather to come around the corner! I know I sure am, as it is still very cold up here in Bilbao! The rain will get ya’, haha!

This week was another great one. I honestly can never complain. We were able to have our zone conference with a member of the Seventy, Elder Olsson from Sweden! Wow, he was just incredible. The Spirit was so strong when he spoke and he bore a powerful testimony of the gospel. I was able to sing a duet with another sister missionary. We sang "Lighthouse in the Night", by Jenny Phillips

"Through the rain

Through the fog

Your light reaches to the lost

You are a believer

Built on the one sure rock

Full of the flame of God

In your life

[Chorus:]

You stand tall above the seas

Spreading light for all to see

There are so many who can see your life

So many searching that will see you shine

Your example steers them to Christ

Like a lighthouse in the night

Full of hope

Full of peace

How bright your faithfulness beams

You make the way clearer

Leading souls home again

You are reminding men

Of the way

[Chorus]

Through the rain and through the fog

We're reaching out to all the lost

Through the rain and through the fog

We're reaching out to all the lost

We are disciples of Christ

And He is our light

We stand tall above the seas

Spreading light for all to see

There are so many who can see our lives

So many searching that will see us shine

May our examples steer them to Christ

Like a light house in the night"

It went really well. We chose that song because our mission, the Spain Barcelona Mission, is the El Faro (Lighthouse) Mission. That is our "nickname" and I just love it! Our mission song is, "Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KchNq0M9N1k

After the conference, Elder Olsson wanted to talk to about 5 missionaries. He asked if he could talk with me, one on one, and I was first. We talked for about 10 minutes or so and it was a remarkable experience that I will never forget. He asked me where I was from, about my family and so on. At the end he just looked at me and said, "We need more young women like you in this world. We are going to need you to step up and not be afraid. We need you to be an example to your family and friends now, but also for your future children and husband. We need strong mothers and wives for this next generation. You live the gospel of Jesus Christ and are one of His true disciples. I know I can trust you. Be that beacon for Christ, who is our greatest light." Wow, what a remarkable experience.

I have been thinking a lot lately about how much a LOVE water analogies when it comes to the gospel. I thought about the ocean and how I absolutely love the beach. It is always so beautiful and is always mesmerizing. But I also have a very big fear of the ocean as well, mostly because I am not a very good swimmer (my family can testify of that, haha). Honestly, I pretty much plug my nose and kind of doggy paddle in the water. I also don´t like the thought of sharks swimming around or not knowing what is below me. It kind of freaks me out!

Below are few examples of some favorite stories or parables associated with the sea:

-Peter walking on water

-The thought of Christ being our lighthouse and our examples shining

-The Parable of the Starfish

-Being "anchored" in the truth

In The Book of Mormon it reads:

"For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth.

And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?" -Ether 2:24-25

I know that God will bring us out of the depths of our own personal seas, especially when it is something hard (or something we fear). Yes, the floods will come; no one is exempt. But through the frightening storms and threatening waves, He is preparing us. He has given us this great LIGHT to steer us home. Our Savior is always there. He always provides a way. We are in His hands.

I also love these quotes:

"God sometimes takes us into troubled waters. Not to DROWN us, but to CLEANSE us." 

"A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor".

He gives us these storms because He loves us. He lets us go through challenges to refine us and to purify us. It is these trials that make us who we are. He lets us learn. He lets us grow. It is not easy, but that is why He has given us this great LIGHT, which is Christ, to lead us home.

There are many people around us who may be lost, scared or maybe even feeling like they are drowning. We can help them. Be that lighthouse. Rescue the lost and struggling seamen. The downhearted. Shine your light. Guide others to the truth. Lead souls home again. May YOUR example steer them to Christ.

Steadfast in Christ,

Hermana Lydia Pamela Vance

Trust in Him … He Will Carry Us

Hello everyone! I am doing great and I hope you all are too! Hermana Manotas and I are just loving every day more and more together! But this past week I also had the opportunity to work with Hermana Salvador. She is currently working in Santander, which is in my zone, and she is so sweet.

She and I had many wonderful experiences together. We were planning on teaching Maira, one of our recent converts, the “new member lessons" again. We planned to teach her about the Restoration, but when we walked in she had one of her aunts (Fabiola) in her house. We decided to teach the Restoration anyway, with the help of our recent convert. It was so cute. Maira was helping us along, and the Spirit was so strong. It went very well and we were able to explain things clearly, and also answer many of the questions she had. As we were finishing with our testimonies of The Book of Mormon, how this gospel can and will bless her life, and about the power of prayer, Fabiola just broke down. She said that she had been going through some really hard things in her life, that she feels like she has just been lost and that she hasn´t known what to do. She said that this is something she really wants. What a special moment. We later found out that she lives in the area of the hermanas in Santander! What a miracle! She is golden for sure! Hermana Salvador was SO excited!

This past weekend we had the opportunity to have Stake Conference, and President Pace and many of the leaders spoke. President Pace was sharing different missionary experiences and stories that were just amazing and said, "They call this (missionary work/service) a sacrifice? To have experiences like that and to meet and teach people like this? To see miracles in people´s lives and in our own … right before your eyes? This is the greatest and most important work there is. I wouldn´t trade it for anything."

He is SO right. If YOU want to see miracles, I´m telling you … go out and meet with the missionaries. Visit people with them. Serve with them; even if it is for one hour to meet someone they are teaching, it will change your life (and theirs). It is our responsibility and great privilege to help in the work of the Lord. We are ALL his children. Our brothers and sisters need our help.

The other night we watched this video with a little 9-year-old girl we are teaching named Dana.

https://www.lds.org/youth/video/daytons-legs?lang=eng

Out of love, a 13-year-old boy in Arizona pushed himself to the limit, so that his friend, who has cerebral palsy, could participate with him in a triathlon. I finished the video in tears, as did my companion.  Dana said she liked the video because Spencer was a good friend to Dayton. He loved and served his friend as Christ would. It made me think that I want to be a better friend like that. We can help those within our reach and bless their lives.

I also thought that there are many times in our lives when WE can´t walk. When, in a spiritual sense, we need someone to carry us. I know that we always have our best friend there for us; our Savior. We can put our faith and trust in Christ and lean on Him. He will carry us; always and forever.

Love,

Hermana Vance

Find Hope & The Light of Christ with Eyes of Faith

It’s transfer week and I am staying in Bilbao! I was so shocked and excited, but also sad, because Hermana Worthington is leaving. She has changed my life and I am going to miss her so much! We will be close forever, and she has become such a close friend and an inspiring and strong example for me. I know she is going to continue to change the lives of others as well. She is going to Sabadell (just outside Barcelona) with Hna. Foncubierta! How blessed I have been to have such amazing companions. I love them with all my heart.

I realized that, after this transfer, I will have been in Bilbao for 6 months, or a third of my mission. Like they say here, "QUE FUERTE!" Haha, this place has truly become a second home for me. I love it. I love it. I love it.

There are a few hermanas who have just started their missions, but needed to switch trainers because they are really struggling. President Pace told me that he has chosen 3 hermanas to finish these hermanas´ training and that this mission needs me. He told me, "we need someone who has experience, who is obedient, who can speak the language, who gets along with the members, and has a true love for them … especially for their companions. We need someone who knows how to have companionship unity. We need your help to reset the course of this hermana´s mission. And I know you can and will do that." No pressure, right? Haha, I´m really excited though, and I know that my new companion will bless my life forever.

I actually met Hermana Manotas last night. She is originally from Columbia, but has lived in the south of Spain most of her life. She is incredible and is ready to work and just take off! She told she had a rough start and that things were pretty hard for her and her companionship, but she is excited to start fresh. I cannot wait for all of the miracles we are going to see together! She is adorable and I love her accent! I am excited for my Spanish to get even better!

This past week has been great! Honestly, every week is, as I feel like I have never had a "bad week". Of course, there are harder moments and stressful situations, but I have never let it get to me. I have tried my very best to be as happy and as positive as possible. This message that we share is of great joy and happiness! How can we preach about how amazing it is, how blessed people will be and how happy people will feel, if others can´t see it in us first?

We ALL have those moments of disappointment, those times of discouragement, and sometimes … we just kind of feel stuck and in a little bit of a hole. But my friend sent me an email last week with this scripture, and I just LOVED it! It reads:

 “For verily I say unto you, blessed is he that keepeth my commandments, whether in life or in death; and he that is faithful in tribulation, the reward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven.

 Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation.

 For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand.

 Remember this, which I tell you before, that you may lay it to heart, and receive that which is to follow.

 Behold, verily I say unto you, for this cause I have sent you—that you might be obedient, and that your hearts might be prepared to bear testimony of the things which are to come." - Doctrine and Covenants 58: 2-6

There is a great conference talk (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/the-hope-of-gods-light?lang=eng) and an absolutely awesome video that I just love! You have to watch the whole thing, it’s incredible.

http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/the-hope-of-gods-light

God IS there, and He knows YOU by name and He LOVES you. Even when we feel lost or confused, God WILL illuminate the path before us, no matter what it takes. Are we humble enough to be able to hear and understand what He is trying to tell us? “Spiritual light rarely comes to those who merely sit in darkness, just waiting for someone else to flip the switch”. This enlightenment comes to us day by day, little by little, like a sunrise, as we trust in our Almighty Father in Heaven who knows us, our lives and what we need better than we do. We can be continually filled with testimonies to share, love to embrace, faith to act, lives to bless and souls to save. Be faithful in tribulation. We cannot even begin to comprehend all that God has in store for us. With our natural eyes, we only get a small glimpse of this eternal plan. Of course we have challenges, difficulties, trials, burdens, sadness, heartbreak and moments of sorrow, but that is the reason that Heavenly Father sent His Son … to save us and to redeem us and to lift us from these pains. This life isn´t easy, none of it is … but through Christ it is possible, fulfilling and rewarding. HIS wounds heal MINE. We are lifted up on His wings of love and mercy as we yield to Him and His teachings. We can feel the peace of God´s infinite love and great light. Just trust Him.

I promise you that the blessings will come; that the hour may not be just yet or that you may not be able to fully see why certain things are happening in your life. But God does, and the hour is nigh at hand. It is coming; we just need to be patient, obedient and have faith. “It takes an act of faith to open our eyes to the light of Christ”. It’s right there in front of you. I encourage you to recognize this love and light in your life, and go forward with great eyes of faith! I love you!

Hermana Lydia Pamela Vance