It's always so great to hear from you. It always seems like so much longer than a week since hearing from you! Emma, I hear you had the house to yourself this week? :) How was that? I miss you lots and lots and I can already see how much taller and older you're getting! I wonder how tall you'll be when I get back. You look so pretty in the pictures dad sent! How's your sunflower doing? When do you start school? I love you sooooo much! So did you get to go swimming this week? Maybe you got to go swimming in the water in our house :/ that's really too bad about the mini flood! But we are so blessed and it could have been a lot worse I'm sure.

Rachel, I've been thinking about you lots this week as I knew you were at EFY, I remember feeling the Spirit a lot at efy and I wondered how I could feel it more often. Don't forget to apply the things you learned and continue to study the Book of Mormon daily - it brings such strength and joy :)

I just read what you wrote to me Rachel and I burst out laughing in the Library with like 25 people around. You're hilarous and I love you!

I have some homework for you two girls! I want you to read a talk by President Uchtdorf, called "Your Wonderful Journey Home". Rachel, remember when we went to the General Young Women's Broadcast after I went through the temple? I wish we would have listened more and not been so silly because the talk that President Uchtdorf gave is AMAZING! I love every part of it because he talks about the Plan of Salvation and it is so beautiful. So my homework for you two this week (Rachel and Emma, and anyone else who wants to join) is to read this talk and think of someone's life you can bless. Then, write me back and tell me what you liked and what experiences you had.  Here's the link: http://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/general-young-women-meeting/2013/03/your-wonderful-journey-home?lang=eng

 

This week was full of miracles!! Whoever prayed for us on Tuesday, your prayers were answered!! Thank you sooo much. I Also on Friday, and last night! I truly believe that a much of the success and progression of this work is from the prayers, faith, and courageous actions of the members. This is truly the Lord's work - we are finding people whose hearts have been prepared to hear and accept the gospel.all the time. It's amazing!

 

Mom, (and everyone else) thank you for praying for Miguel. We hadn't been able to contact him in awhile and it seemed as if he was avoiding us, but this Friday, Hermana Lawrence felt like we should stop by his house. After 3 times trying the door and waiting, he finally answered and we were able to talk to him and teach him. He is so lonely and sad and so burdened down by sin. We were able to teach him about Jesus Christ and the hope that He brings to each of us. I know that no matter how much we've sinned or how far we've gone, our Savior can bring us back. He can lift us and strengthen us. He loves us so much and wants us to come back. Please continue to pray for him because he needs this hope in his life so much! There are so many people that we meet who have addictions or have lots of problems in their families and need the enabling, strengthening power of the atonement. We all need it.

 

And, your prayers were answered for Victor as well!! This Sunday, he was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints, and recieved the gift of the Holy Ghost. We were SO happy for him. He was super happy too. Afterwards everyone raised their hands to sustain him and he waved to everyone haha :) In the evening we went over to read the Book of Mormon with him and gave him a picture from his baptism. He loved it, loved the Book of Mormon, and was so happy. His aunt, Rosalinda, came home and she listened to our lesson. She got super excited because we were talking about Lehi and Nephi and then she piped in and started talking about what she has been reading - we were so happy because she hadn't been reading much before! We had a great discussion about applying scriptures to our lives, and when we were about to close in prayer, Rosalinda's son and family of a wife and 6 kids walked in, and we asked them if we could all kneel in prayer. Victor said the prayer and the spirit was there. We're hoping that we can teach their family one of these days as well :)

 

We also found another amazing family who has been so prepared by the Lord. Two parents and a seven year old daughter who is so sweet. Their hearts are sooo prepared. The Lord truly is hastening His work - I keep saying it, but it's amazing! I feel so blessed to be a part of this historic time. If you are feeling nervous about sharing the gospel, I invite you to have faith in miracles and act, because there are miracles every day, especially in missionary work. Have faith in your friends and love them enough to share this joy with them :) I know that your small part can benefit someone, and the Lord will bless you and them much more than the effort you put in. I love what D&C 123:11-17 says :) http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/123?lang=eng

 

So, mom, don't worry about praying exactly for everyone every day, but you can add Jose, Salvador, and Irene :) Thank you so much for your prayers!

 

Tell Uncle Rob good luck!! I think about my extended family often - I'm pretty sure I have the best family in the world.

Mom, don't worry too much about what you write to me - I love any letters, so you can send both of the ones your wrote! I love hearing from you! I'm amazed by your strength and dedication to missionary work. I'm praying for you too and love you lots. How's your health doing?

 

Tyler and Madeline, how was your honeymoon? Did you get to go to the San Diego Temple? I hear you're having fun decorating your new place. You should send me a photo of you two in your new apartment as little newlyweds :) Hope everything's going well. I love you both!

 

Dad, it was great to hear from you too. I often feel for you in your responsibility as a bishop. You're amazing - keep relying on the Lord, and as for the missionaries, have high expectations for them! The Lord has called them to Calgary to find the people who are prepared, and so if they work hard, they'll find the people who are prepared! If they have low expectations, there won't be as many miracles. The temple is an amazing reminder of how much faith the Lord has for the people in Calgary as well.

 

Also, do you have a friend or something that owns Redwing Shoes? There's one near our house and Hermana Lawrence needs some shoe help before she goes to Argentina and has to walk everywhere...is there any way we could get her a discount? Let me know :) Work your magic!

 

Well family, I love you sooo much! Thank you thank you for your prayers and love. I miss you lots but I'm so glad and grateful to be here.

 

Love,

 

Hermana Vance

 

Ps. The Mysyk's sent me a package from Hawaii!! I didn't know they were there but I hope you're having a wonderful time there! Thank you so much for the awesome package!! You're the best :)

Wedding week - two letters

So wonderful to hear from you again! You've all been in my prayers as well, and thank you so much for your prayers for Victor. Although it was a little nerve-wracking yesterday, everything worked out and he was baptized :) We are so happy, and he's even happier. It was also a miracle because lots of other investigators were able to come, and so were President and Sister Alba. Sister Lawrence and I sang "Come Unto Jesus" and everything went really well. Afterwards, we went to go visit him to give him a Spanish Hymnbook with little messages from us in it, and he came to the door with a cup in his hands and said, "Cafe!" (which means coffee in Spanish), and we were mortifed! Until he laughed and told us it was just milk. Hahahaha it was awful and awesome. He told us how happy he was and asked us once again why he felt so happy. We told him it was because Heavenly Father was so pleased with His decision and because all of his sins were washed away. We decided to kneel in prayer before we left and it was such a happy wonderful experience. He is so great and I just feel honored to be a part of his conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful day tomorrow! Mom, I'm especially praying for your health (I'll pray for Tyler's too!) and I'm so excited for Tyler and Madeline. I love them and I love you all!!! Make sure to write me details and take LOTS of photos. I wish I could be there but I know this is where I should be and I'm happy :)

I'm so happy Madeline going through the temple was such a wonderful experience. We had a day of miracles on the day she went through and I was thinking of her and praying for her too.

 

I love you all so very much! Have a wonderful, sacred, happy, fun day tomorrow and know that I'm thinking of you and praying for you!! Give Tyler and Madeline a BIG hug for me.

 

Love,

Sister Vance

Dear Tyler and Madeline,

 

What a special day this is! I can't tell you how happy I am for you two, and also how proud I am. I love you both so very much. I'm sad that I can't be there to share this day with you, but I know that this is where I need to be. I am so proud of you two for living the way that our Heavenly Father wants you to live so that you are worthy to enter the Temple and that you were married for time and eternity this morning!! I hope the Spirit was there in abundance and that you were able to feel the sacredness of the covenants you made with Heavenly Father. I imagine that it was so special and wonderful. I wish I could have been there! I hope you know how much I love both of you. I am so happy and proud that you are starting a family with a foundation on the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so happy that we are an eternal family through Temple Ordinances!

Tyler, thank you for being such a wonderful brother and example to me. I am so happy that we were sent to the same family to be siblings and best friends :) Thank you for always being there for me and for supporting me in all that I do. You are amazing and I love you so much! You have such a bright future ahead and I am so proud of you.

Madeline, I can't tell you how happy I am that you are part of our family :) I couldn't have picked anyone better for my big brother and I am so excited to spend years and years together as sister in laws :) Thank you for making my brother so happy, and the rest of us too! I love you lots. I hope this day is filled with joy and with the spirit. I am so, so happy for you both! My prayers are with you, and give everyone a big hug for me! Can't wait to hug you all myself in 16 months.

 

Congratulations and all my love,

 

Sister Vance (Becky) :)

My dear family!

I love you all so much. I'm so glad the wedding went so perfectly. It
sounded like a fairy-tale! I prayed for you all extra hard on Tuesday
and tried not to think about not being there too much. Heavenly Father
blessed me with lots of things to do and it wasn't too hard of a day
:) That evening we had a lesson with Victor about the Restoration and
how it relates to the Priesthood. We watched a movie about Joseph
Smith's first vision and I was reminded by the Spirit of the
truthfulness of what happened in that grove of trees.
(http://mormon.org/beliefs/joseph-smith), in case anyone wants to
watch a little clip.)
Afterwards, we testified to Victor about the importance of the
Restoration and how it is because of it that we have the knowledge of
God's plan for us. I felt such peace and gratitude, especially as I
thought of Tyler and Madeline and their eternal marriage in the temple
that couldn't be possible without the restoration of Christ's gospel
through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I started getting choked up as I
closed in prayer and thanked Heavenly Father for the restoration of
the gospel of Jesus Christ and for all of our many, many blessings.

Being on a mission has brought so much gratitude into my heart -
gratitude for my family and how blessed I have been to have such
faithful, strong, loving parents, and especially gratitude to have the
truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. These truths and this
knowledge bring so much peace into my life. It's amazing to interact
with and see so many people every day and to see the sadness, stress,
or uncertainty in their eyes - in contrast the knowledge that God is
our loving Heavenly Father and that He has a perfect plan of happiness
for us brings real and lasting peace. It brings such comfort. I love
John 14:27 that says,
"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world
giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let
it be afraid."
God's plan, because of the sacrifice and love of Jesus Christ, can
bring us peace - not the "world peace" that people talk about, but
true, enduring, still, inner peace.

I know that we lived with our Father in Heaven before this life and
that He sent us here to learn and grow, to experience happiness, and
to show our faith in Him and His plan. We all chose to come here and
we trusted in Him - continue to trust in Him even when it is hard! He
loves you more than you can imagine and He wants you to experience
lasting joy. His plan truly is the plan of happiness. I am so grateful
to know of His plan and to feel of His love every day.

Sister Lawrence got April conference on CD's and we listen to them in
the car. I love General Conference! If you haven't listened to or read
the talks from April, please do! They are amazing. The prophets and
apostles will never lead us astray, and you can feel it in their
words!

Could you maybe send me the October 2012 general conference CD's if
possible? Ohh and a USB memory card reader and some headphones?
There's no rush on them AT ALL, but the card reader and headphones
could probably be amazoned. Transfers are this week, and Hermana
Lawrence and I are staying here in Napa together :) Yay. Sister Wise
(who we live with) is leaving to go to Eureka, but the rest of us are
staying. I'm happy that Hermana Lemmon is staying because she's great
and we like to make delicious food at lunch time. By the way, I think
I'm starting to like Mexican food :) I think there's a few people
reading this that are pretty happy right now.

Thank you again for your prayers for Victor. Pleeease keep praying,
because he was supposed to get confirmed and recieve the gift of the
Holy Ghost this sunday, but something came up (I still don't fully
understand it - oh, spanish) and he didn't make it to Sacrament
Meeting. That means it'll be 2 weeks since his baptism, but he'll be
confirmed next sacrament meeting. Satan will be working hard on him so
please keep praying. Also for Alexis!! She's amazing but she's been
hard to get ahold of lately and so that's a little worrysome. However,
we have faith :) I know that God truly does answer prayers. Thank you
for all your prayers in my behalf and for the people here!

I can't think of any funny stories right now, but Hermana Lawrence and
I have been laughing our heads off this week and it's been so great.
We live right accross the street from a high school and this week the
marching band has been practicing for when school starts. I don't think
they ever stop playing, and it is just so funny to me, because
sometimes you can tell why they need to practice so much, and it's so
loud. Sometimes in weekly planning at 9:00pm, its hard not to get the
giggles when picturing a 16 year old trumpet player who has been
half-heartedly marching for hours on end but has to keep practicing.

I know my stories are lame but I wish you could all be here to
experience them with me :)

Well, I love you all very much. I got the letters you sent from Tie
lake this week and they made me SO happy! Thank you everyone! Thank
you for the beautiful artwork as well :) And I got your handwritten
letter, Rachy. It made me sooooooo happy. I love you so much. Hand
written letters are just the best. Have fun at efy this week! Don't
flirt with boys. I'll find out if you do! :)

Remember to always be an example of the Savior and to share His love
and His gospel in small but bold ways. It's our responsibility and
there are so many blessings!

Love,
Sister Vance

Ps. I didn't know Tyler and Madeline went to San Diego on their
honeymoon! We're neighbors :) Tell them to go to the Temple there,
it's so beautiful! Love you two! Congratulations!!