MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! How is everyone. Thank you so much for the Christmas presents. I really love the new Camera thank you so much. Tell Austin I really Love his gift I have it hanging on my board with the picture he has drawn for me.
How is the house? How surprised were you when I called? I was so excited when I asked for a phone pass and the Sister said okay. I cant believe I am delayed. I was just making fun of Elder Helvey about being delayed and how Its a good thing Im going State side so I wont have to visa wait or anything like that, and then BAM! I get delayed. For those of you who dont know I have been delayed until Jan. 4th because the transfer dates are different in D.C. because there are an English Zone with language missionaries mixed in. I am really excited to call home... AGAIN!
Arielle's mom Shauna sent me a voice recorder so If you want me to send you a tape or two of how the mission is going just send me some tapes and I will send them back with me on them :) Thank you so much for the calendar and mints Bishop Penovich that was a great present to recieve. I enjoyed all the Christmas Cards I've recieved. I've only been gone for 2 months but I can see quite a bit has changed in just those two months.
Well we have a Christmas Devotional at 10:00am and Greg Olsen is speaking. I am so excited to meet him. I'm hoping tonight I can get good seats the rumor is First Presidency member is going to speak tonight. I might not write alot of letters today so If you don't recieve a letter from me this week don't worry I didnt forget Today is my P-day and they have only given us a few hours to do what we want and I have laundry to do. So no worries I still Love You all very much. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and remember there would be no Christmas without Easter. JOYEUX NOEL!!!
Love Elder Van Dyke
Friday, December 25, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
December 18, 2009
Hey Family :) How is everyone. I hope all is well in the Aspen 8th ward and at Home. This week in the MTC there has been some very interesting changes. Yesterday Elder Helvey received a notice to go to the travel office where Sister Law works and when we talked to her she gave us some good and bad news. The good new is On Tuesday Elder Helvey is leaving to Salt Lake City South until his visas for France and Belgium come and the bad news is now I wont have Elder Helvey as my companion so for the last week I will get another new companion. Elder Helvey or Grandpa Helvey as we like to call him has been here for 11 weeks now so he is very happy to be leaving. After about the 6th week of being here you really get an urge to just break out for a day LoL. It wouldnt be so bad if we could get a little change in the schedule or in the food any change would make the stay here better.
Thank you so much for my packages Elder Helvey and I love them especially all the food :) and Soeur Chugg and Soeur Hurst love the advant calendars. This yearis going to be one of the most weird Christmas's ever. The one thing I am looking forward to however is hearing a member of the First Presidency speak. I hope and pray every day that it will be President Monson but who knows they are all great speakers. This Christmas I would like for you to think about not Christmas but Christ and remember the 3 gifts that God has given to us.
1st gift Jesus Christ His only begotten son and His Atoning sacrafice for us.
2nd gift Gift of the Holy Ghost. As long as we live worthy the Holy Ghost can always reside with us and help us make the right choice and lastly but most important The greatest gift of all the gifts of God.
Eternal Life where we will reside with God, Jesus Christ, and our Families. Isnt that what Christmas is all about? Remembering God giving up His only begotten, Jesus and His Atoning sacrafice for us that we may be perfected and live with our Father in Heaven for Eternity.
The most impoartant thing I will be missing this year Family. Spend as much time as you can with your family. Tell them you Love them. Give your children a hug tell them how special they are to you. Have a circle of love. The circle of love is something we do in the MTC where everyone gathers in a cirlce and we choose one person to go first and that person sits in the middle while everyone takes turns going around and telling them how much they have impacted their stay at the MTC and tell them how much they love them as a Elder/Sister It is a very spiritual experience when we do this you can really feel the Holy Ghost filling the room. It is an amazing thing to experience. So this Christmas I would ask you to maybe open presents on Dec. 26th and on the 25th Remember who this Holiday is really about Jesus Christ Our Savior.
Elder VanDyke
Thank you so much for my packages Elder Helvey and I love them especially all the food :) and Soeur Chugg and Soeur Hurst love the advant calendars. This yearis going to be one of the most weird Christmas's ever. The one thing I am looking forward to however is hearing a member of the First Presidency speak. I hope and pray every day that it will be President Monson but who knows they are all great speakers. This Christmas I would like for you to think about not Christmas but Christ and remember the 3 gifts that God has given to us.
1st gift Jesus Christ His only begotten son and His Atoning sacrafice for us.
2nd gift Gift of the Holy Ghost. As long as we live worthy the Holy Ghost can always reside with us and help us make the right choice and lastly but most important The greatest gift of all the gifts of God.
Eternal Life where we will reside with God, Jesus Christ, and our Families. Isnt that what Christmas is all about? Remembering God giving up His only begotten, Jesus and His Atoning sacrafice for us that we may be perfected and live with our Father in Heaven for Eternity.
The most impoartant thing I will be missing this year Family. Spend as much time as you can with your family. Tell them you Love them. Give your children a hug tell them how special they are to you. Have a circle of love. The circle of love is something we do in the MTC where everyone gathers in a cirlce and we choose one person to go first and that person sits in the middle while everyone takes turns going around and telling them how much they have impacted their stay at the MTC and tell them how much they love them as a Elder/Sister It is a very spiritual experience when we do this you can really feel the Holy Ghost filling the room. It is an amazing thing to experience. So this Christmas I would ask you to maybe open presents on Dec. 26th and on the 25th Remember who this Holiday is really about Jesus Christ Our Savior.
Elder VanDyke
December 11, 2009
Dad I need my mailing address for the feild I want to write one of the 3 week missionaries that I met here and ask him what I need to work on so I can hit the ground running. He is a 3 weeker but he is going to Reunion Madagascar and he wont get his visa stuff until December 20th and then he goes from Washington D.C. to Reunion.
Bonjour comment cava? I am doing amazing. I hope all is well back home. I was talking to Soeur Roubicek and Frere Vincent and I found out that their friend served his mission in New Caledonia which is where my two Sisters are serving. I also found out he lived in Washington D.C. South but he spent alot of time in the North and he has been to the Ward im going to serve in and its an English speaking ward and the missionaries translate every Sunday for the French speakers who are all from Africa which is tres cool. He also told me that there are only 3 areas and 6 missionaries. It was really cool to hear him talk about it. French is really coming along great I'm picking it up pretty well my teachers tell me that I am improving really fast because I try to speak it so much during and outside of class.
So in the MTC we have this thing called the Referral Center a.k.a. R.C. and we go there every Thursday from 9:00am-10:30am On Mormon.org there is a thing where you can ask a Missionary LIVE! and I was doing that yesterday and I had the most brillant 'chats' as we call them. My first chat was with a Lady her name is Iria and she is a little embarrassed about being Religious and she asked me if I have ever felt that way I said yea lots of times but then I remember that it doesnt matter what others think because I know what I believe is True and nothing can change that. As we were talking she opened up little by little and as I was typing I could feel the Spirit flowing through me and helping me testify to her of the truthfulness of our message. I invited her to meet with the missionaries she declined however she said she didnt want anyone to force religion on her I explain our purpose as missionaries is not to force you to be 'Mormon' We want to INVITE(keyword)you to come and listen to our message and we INVITE you to hear more about the gospel and Jesus Christ and God. She still declined but I asked her if we could talk again next week and she was excited to hear that. I feel as if I knew her in the pre-mortal life and now im getting the chance to teach her.
My last chat wasnt the best chat here at the MTC the worst possible chats you can get are 1. Why is your church racist and wont let 'blacks' hold the Priesthood? 2. Where is Kolob? 3. Why do you practice polygamy? 4. I think im gay. 5. Why cant you drink... coffee, tea, alcohol, caffeine, etc. 6. If I smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes can I still be a member? and so on and so forth. We missionaries HATE those question or when members get on just to talk to missionaries and ask us about where we are going etc... mainly girls which is really annoying.
Well on Thursday my last chat was from a Man saying he thinks he is Gay. I don't know how you think you are something either you are or your not anyways remembering the most important Christlike Attribute PATIENCE! I asked well are you religious? He said he was a member of our church I though to myself great I can just give him the old Go talk to your bishop speil. I told him that he said I don't feel comfortable talking to him about it. I said okay well how can I help you then? He asked me what I though he should do. Apparently he wasnt listening when I said 'I think you should go talk to your Bishop' So I replied well have you prayed to God for help? he said he had but he feels like God has abandoned him. He thinks God hates him and thats why he gave him these feelings. I told him we all go through different trials in our lives. He said well if I dont act upon these feelings then I will be denying God because he gave me these feelings. I said so your saying If someone has a bad temper and wants to kill someone then they should act upon those feelings? If someone has thoughts of suicide them they should act upon those feelings? I explained to him we all have feelings both positive and uplifting and negative and demeaning but if we always acted upon those feelings then we would constantly be sinning. He thought about it... For like 5 min. then he responded well how do I get God to Love me again and help me. I told him we are all God's Children He loves us CONSTANTLY and even when we do bad things like our earthly parents he is disappointed but will always love us no matter what. He said I cant feel that love so I asked him again have you Prayed to him? he said yes. I asked Sincerly? With a change of heart and a willingness to do whatever he asks of you? He said he hadnt I commited him to pray to god to ask sincerily and if his answer is go talk to your Bishop then dont be scared dont question God he knows all He is omnipotent and if you do what He asks He will bless you and help you through this trial. Then I set up an appointment with him next Thursday to talk with him and tell me about his experience. I feel as if Im already in the field. I have been unsure of the French language and teaching in it but after that experience I now know that no matter what language I speak the Spirit speaks it fluidly already and all I have to do is be obedient and be worthy and he will be by my side helping those I teach to understand the message I have to share with them.
Elder Van Dyke
Bonjour comment cava? I am doing amazing. I hope all is well back home. I was talking to Soeur Roubicek and Frere Vincent and I found out that their friend served his mission in New Caledonia which is where my two Sisters are serving. I also found out he lived in Washington D.C. South but he spent alot of time in the North and he has been to the Ward im going to serve in and its an English speaking ward and the missionaries translate every Sunday for the French speakers who are all from Africa which is tres cool. He also told me that there are only 3 areas and 6 missionaries. It was really cool to hear him talk about it. French is really coming along great I'm picking it up pretty well my teachers tell me that I am improving really fast because I try to speak it so much during and outside of class.
So in the MTC we have this thing called the Referral Center a.k.a. R.C. and we go there every Thursday from 9:00am-10:30am On Mormon.org there is a thing where you can ask a Missionary LIVE! and I was doing that yesterday and I had the most brillant 'chats' as we call them. My first chat was with a Lady her name is Iria and she is a little embarrassed about being Religious and she asked me if I have ever felt that way I said yea lots of times but then I remember that it doesnt matter what others think because I know what I believe is True and nothing can change that. As we were talking she opened up little by little and as I was typing I could feel the Spirit flowing through me and helping me testify to her of the truthfulness of our message. I invited her to meet with the missionaries she declined however she said she didnt want anyone to force religion on her I explain our purpose as missionaries is not to force you to be 'Mormon' We want to INVITE(keyword)you to come and listen to our message and we INVITE you to hear more about the gospel and Jesus Christ and God. She still declined but I asked her if we could talk again next week and she was excited to hear that. I feel as if I knew her in the pre-mortal life and now im getting the chance to teach her.
My last chat wasnt the best chat here at the MTC the worst possible chats you can get are 1. Why is your church racist and wont let 'blacks' hold the Priesthood? 2. Where is Kolob? 3. Why do you practice polygamy? 4. I think im gay. 5. Why cant you drink... coffee, tea, alcohol, caffeine, etc. 6. If I smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes can I still be a member? and so on and so forth. We missionaries HATE those question or when members get on just to talk to missionaries and ask us about where we are going etc... mainly girls which is really annoying.
Well on Thursday my last chat was from a Man saying he thinks he is Gay. I don't know how you think you are something either you are or your not anyways remembering the most important Christlike Attribute PATIENCE! I asked well are you religious? He said he was a member of our church I though to myself great I can just give him the old Go talk to your bishop speil. I told him that he said I don't feel comfortable talking to him about it. I said okay well how can I help you then? He asked me what I though he should do. Apparently he wasnt listening when I said 'I think you should go talk to your Bishop' So I replied well have you prayed to God for help? he said he had but he feels like God has abandoned him. He thinks God hates him and thats why he gave him these feelings. I told him we all go through different trials in our lives. He said well if I dont act upon these feelings then I will be denying God because he gave me these feelings. I said so your saying If someone has a bad temper and wants to kill someone then they should act upon those feelings? If someone has thoughts of suicide them they should act upon those feelings? I explained to him we all have feelings both positive and uplifting and negative and demeaning but if we always acted upon those feelings then we would constantly be sinning. He thought about it... For like 5 min. then he responded well how do I get God to Love me again and help me. I told him we are all God's Children He loves us CONSTANTLY and even when we do bad things like our earthly parents he is disappointed but will always love us no matter what. He said I cant feel that love so I asked him again have you Prayed to him? he said yes. I asked Sincerly? With a change of heart and a willingness to do whatever he asks of you? He said he hadnt I commited him to pray to god to ask sincerily and if his answer is go talk to your Bishop then dont be scared dont question God he knows all He is omnipotent and if you do what He asks He will bless you and help you through this trial. Then I set up an appointment with him next Thursday to talk with him and tell me about his experience. I feel as if Im already in the field. I have been unsure of the French language and teaching in it but after that experience I now know that no matter what language I speak the Spirit speaks it fluidly already and all I have to do is be obedient and be worthy and he will be by my side helping those I teach to understand the message I have to share with them.
Elder Van Dyke
Monday, December 7, 2009
December 4, 2009
How is everyone I hope all is well. I havent been receiving any letters from people in the ward whats up with that? JK. Anyways this MTC experience is pretty weird days go by like weeks, weeks go by like days I cant believe im already going to be in the field in 3 weeks. My roommates Elder Rodriguez, Elder Williams, and Elder Nufer are leaving to the West Indies Monday Dec. 7th. They are only allowed to pack 1 bag of 44lbs. and 1 carry on of 16lbs. because the plane from Trinidad to West Indies is such a small plane they can only have so much luggage. Lucky for me I get first dibs on everything before it goes into the free box :)
On Wednesday one of my sister companions Soeur Hurst went to the Dr. for a previous neck injury that hasnt healed and it has been almost 2 years since the accident and is now getting worse since being in the MTC. Soeur Hurst went the the Dr. to get it checked out and the Dr. told her that she could go home now(Wednesday Dec. 2)or he would give her until December 28th and if she wasnt all better by then she would be sent home and be medically released and if she was all better but she still feels pain in her neck then they would send her state side instead of New Caladonia well she is still here right beside Soeur Chugg and I and on Thursday she had an MRI done and Today Friday they got the results everything was fine except they found a cyst and they hope that the cyst isthe reason for all of her pain and so she is getting scheduled for surgery in the next week or so. I would ask you all to remember her in your personal and family prayers she is as a sister to me and to lose her would be horrible I wish you all could meet her. She is one of the smartest sisters here in our zone please pray for her that she may recouperate and be able to serve her mission I love you all.
Speaking of Smart I dont know if I have already told you but Elizabeth Smart is in my zone. Let me tell you now you can see the spirit radiating off of her. Soeur Smart and her companion Soeur Vedeja are amazing sisters and are just what we needed to keep myself and the other Elders on track and studying instead of playing NINJA! :) our favorite game besides verb 4 square which is okay but you have to learn verbs which is pretty hard. Anyways I will write you all more next week. I love you all please write me on Dearelder.com in your spare time and please remember Soeur Hurst in your prayers
Love Elder Van Dyke
On Wednesday one of my sister companions Soeur Hurst went to the Dr. for a previous neck injury that hasnt healed and it has been almost 2 years since the accident and is now getting worse since being in the MTC. Soeur Hurst went the the Dr. to get it checked out and the Dr. told her that she could go home now(Wednesday Dec. 2)or he would give her until December 28th and if she wasnt all better by then she would be sent home and be medically released and if she was all better but she still feels pain in her neck then they would send her state side instead of New Caladonia well she is still here right beside Soeur Chugg and I and on Thursday she had an MRI done and Today Friday they got the results everything was fine except they found a cyst and they hope that the cyst isthe reason for all of her pain and so she is getting scheduled for surgery in the next week or so. I would ask you all to remember her in your personal and family prayers she is as a sister to me and to lose her would be horrible I wish you all could meet her. She is one of the smartest sisters here in our zone please pray for her that she may recouperate and be able to serve her mission I love you all.
Speaking of Smart I dont know if I have already told you but Elizabeth Smart is in my zone. Let me tell you now you can see the spirit radiating off of her. Soeur Smart and her companion Soeur Vedeja are amazing sisters and are just what we needed to keep myself and the other Elders on track and studying instead of playing NINJA! :) our favorite game besides verb 4 square which is okay but you have to learn verbs which is pretty hard. Anyways I will write you all more next week. I love you all please write me on Dearelder.com in your spare time and please remember Soeur Hurst in your prayers
Love Elder Van Dyke
Sunday, November 29, 2009
November 27, 2009
Hey Family and Friends
I hope everything is going good back home. Tuesday we had Elder Oaks come and talk to us it was amazing he shared so much knowlegde and his talk was just so inspiring. Yesterday Thanksgiving we had an early morning devotional and Elder Holland came and talked to us at that and his talk was just as amazing we all wrote questions all 2,500 of us missionaries and he answered like 5 questions of all of them and one of them was my question they were anonymous so nobody knew it but me but it was amazing to know that my question was one of the few choosen and when he answered it I felt like we were just having a one on one and he was talking directly to me.
So how was Thanksgiving I hope you remembered to say a pray about everything your thankful for I didnt realize how thankful I was for being able to say all my prayers in the past in English let's just say my prayer took me about 30 min. just because I didnt know how to say what I wanted to say in French. Good thing the Lord can understand broekn/made up French otherwise he would have been very confused. So yesterday at the end of Thanksgiving we had a fireside and we were given time to say what we were thankful for and I had the opprotunity to say what I was thankful for and lets say 1 min wasnt enough even for English. Some of the things I said I was grateful for is first of course my family and how much they mean to me especially not being able to see or communicate with them at all on Thanksgiving I also mentioned how grateful I was for the people that donated money to my mission fund it means alot to me and makes me try even harder knowing that someone else is paying for this. I am also grateful for My Aunts and Uncles that are serving in Armeanea and Kiev and that if they can learn a language that doesnt even make sense then I can sure learn French (Which is going really good) I am also thankful for all of my friends and their influences on me for good and bad for had it not been for the good I wouldnt know what was bad and if not for the bad I wouldnt know the good. and lastly I am thankful for My Savior Jesus Christ who suffered and Died for my sins and knowing that no matter how far astray I was that he never gave up on me and because of his sacrafice I could repent and come back to him.
This next week we start teaching the First lesson in French ALL OF IT! pretty scary but I know as long as I trust in the lord and I am obedient he will help me learn the language and teach by the spirit. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and I would love to hear how everyones Thanksgiving was so drop me a letter on Dearelder.com I always reply but you need to send them to me first because I dont have alot of addresses...Yet... So send me a letter it doesnt even have to be about your Thanksgiving. It can be anything questions or experiences youve had. I love you all and hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving.
Love Elder Van Dyke
I hope everything is going good back home. Tuesday we had Elder Oaks come and talk to us it was amazing he shared so much knowlegde and his talk was just so inspiring. Yesterday Thanksgiving we had an early morning devotional and Elder Holland came and talked to us at that and his talk was just as amazing we all wrote questions all 2,500 of us missionaries and he answered like 5 questions of all of them and one of them was my question they were anonymous so nobody knew it but me but it was amazing to know that my question was one of the few choosen and when he answered it I felt like we were just having a one on one and he was talking directly to me.
So how was Thanksgiving I hope you remembered to say a pray about everything your thankful for I didnt realize how thankful I was for being able to say all my prayers in the past in English let's just say my prayer took me about 30 min. just because I didnt know how to say what I wanted to say in French. Good thing the Lord can understand broekn/made up French otherwise he would have been very confused. So yesterday at the end of Thanksgiving we had a fireside and we were given time to say what we were thankful for and I had the opprotunity to say what I was thankful for and lets say 1 min wasnt enough even for English. Some of the things I said I was grateful for is first of course my family and how much they mean to me especially not being able to see or communicate with them at all on Thanksgiving I also mentioned how grateful I was for the people that donated money to my mission fund it means alot to me and makes me try even harder knowing that someone else is paying for this. I am also grateful for My Aunts and Uncles that are serving in Armeanea and Kiev and that if they can learn a language that doesnt even make sense then I can sure learn French (Which is going really good) I am also thankful for all of my friends and their influences on me for good and bad for had it not been for the good I wouldnt know what was bad and if not for the bad I wouldnt know the good. and lastly I am thankful for My Savior Jesus Christ who suffered and Died for my sins and knowing that no matter how far astray I was that he never gave up on me and because of his sacrafice I could repent and come back to him.
This next week we start teaching the First lesson in French ALL OF IT! pretty scary but I know as long as I trust in the lord and I am obedient he will help me learn the language and teach by the spirit. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and I would love to hear how everyones Thanksgiving was so drop me a letter on Dearelder.com I always reply but you need to send them to me first because I dont have alot of addresses...Yet... So send me a letter it doesnt even have to be about your Thanksgiving. It can be anything questions or experiences youve had. I love you all and hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving.
Love Elder Van Dyke
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
November 20, 2009
Hey Mom and Dad
I had an amazing spiritual experience so on Wednesday I was in Quarantine which I still am even now Friday morning. Stupid doctor said I looked really tired and asked how much sleep I had I said 4 hours so he told me I needed to stay another day and sleep and he would be back last night and would clear me to leave so I agreed but then he never came back so now I have to wait for him this morning but he doesnt come until like 11 and by then my P-Day is half gone. But anyways so i'm in my room on Virtual Classroom where if your in Isolation you can do a webcam so I can see and hear them and they can see me but my webcam is only for the microphone so the only picture they see of me is my missionary one. It is very interesting but it helps me to stay caught up in my Francais. Well on Wednesdays we have whats called TRC(Training Resource Center)where people come and volunteer time and act as pretend investigators for us. Its really cool and really helps me to prepare. Well since i'm not there it was just the two Sisters who went Soeur Chugg and Soeur Hurst well since TRC is in a different building we got off and I was told to come back on at 5:45pm and so i slept until about 5:30pm and woke up just in time to get ready which really means me crawling out of bed onto the floor putting my pilllow on the seat so I dont get a numb bum:) and then wrapping my blankets around me just like I did back home. Well once we got the Cameras to work(sometimes they can be a bigger pain in the but than they're worth)The two Sisters seemed pretty happy and as our teachers told them what they could improve on I could see their eyes puff up and get watery and what our teachers were saying wasnt harsh at all they were telling them they did a great job and they were giving them pointers on what we could do together(including me)to improve on our teaching skills and really invite the spirit into the lesson and to testify of the truth of our lesson. Well all of a sudden they both just began to cry and the teachers looked at eachother then to me then back at eachother and then the girls. After I saw this I hurried and said a prayer that heavenly father could help me find a scripture or give me a thought of what to say to these two sister missionaries to help them remember your love for them and comfort them and as I finished i quickly skimmed through the scriptures but nothing was really poping out at me and I knew God was going to help me to help them I just needed to have more faith so I prayed again and again began to flip pages like a twilight addict with a new book(thats for you Courtney, Chelsea, and Arielle) and still I couldn't find anything and I knew the Lord was with me I just had to really think about it and as I pondered I pictured Jesus Christ spreading God's love to all the people not by telling them but by showing them God's Love for them. At first I didnt know what the heck it meant so i began reading scriptures again and then I pictured my suit in the closet hanging up name tags and all(yes mom it was hanging up even on hangers) and again I didnt understand but then I put two and two together and before I could think another second I was throwing my pjs on the ground for I knew that God wanted me to go to the Sisters in class and use me as a tool in his hand and show them his love for them. In about 2 min. I was dressed From my suit coat and tie to my Goldtoe socks and my ecco shoes. As I was escaping from Quarantine I remembered how was I going to get back in? My blue card doesnt work on this floor only security and admin. have access as I was thinking I was still walking out of my Isolation room and as I departed from it I almost fell on top of Elder Cook one of the newest members to the Quarantine family :) I told him the story and he agreed to let me back in. So I was off and as I approached the Classroom I had to be quite as not to let the other Francais districts see me because they would blow my cover for sure. So I took the back hall and the door was open enough I could slide in without touching the door as I entered everyone was on there knees and Soeur Roubicek was praying in Francais and to my surprise I was able to understand most of it. As she said a nom de Jesus Christ Amen I said belated AMEN! and the two sisters looked up with big smiles on their faces and the teachers had puzzled looks on theirs, and before anyone could say anything I looked at the two sisters and declared "GOD LOVES YOU! God loves you so much he wanted me to personally come to class and bear witness of it to you. He loves you so much and appreciates your sacrafices you Soeur Chugg for leaving behind your BF Adam and putting your education at BYU Idaho on hold to give him the best 18 months of your life if you will strive to do your best and always remember to ask God for strength and help he will give it to you and you Soeur Hurst even though your neck hurts you dont complain you look for the good in your trails you left behind your BF Mike and after receiving your Associates in Business from SLCC instead of going to U of U to get your bachaleors you chose to come on a mission first and by putting me above all you will be greatly blessed and is grateful for your service even though its only been 3 weeks he knows your trying your best and he promises that if you keep trying your best and you study hard and dont quit He will bless you in all the work that you do now in the Mission field and later in your Business career. Then I felt light headed and had to sit down for a second but I wrote it all in my journal its like 4 pages from jus that day It was a really cool experience for me. Well thats my email hope you like it send it to the family for me because im only allowed to email you and dad. Also tell everyone in the ward to write me I need letters I am sooooo bored without communication with the outside world. I love you soooo much and cant wait to hear from you
Love/ Elder Van Dyke
P.S. send me real food the quarantine food almost killed me but luckily I survived of Chips and %2 Milk
I had an amazing spiritual experience so on Wednesday I was in Quarantine which I still am even now Friday morning. Stupid doctor said I looked really tired and asked how much sleep I had I said 4 hours so he told me I needed to stay another day and sleep and he would be back last night and would clear me to leave so I agreed but then he never came back so now I have to wait for him this morning but he doesnt come until like 11 and by then my P-Day is half gone. But anyways so i'm in my room on Virtual Classroom where if your in Isolation you can do a webcam so I can see and hear them and they can see me but my webcam is only for the microphone so the only picture they see of me is my missionary one. It is very interesting but it helps me to stay caught up in my Francais. Well on Wednesdays we have whats called TRC(Training Resource Center)where people come and volunteer time and act as pretend investigators for us. Its really cool and really helps me to prepare. Well since i'm not there it was just the two Sisters who went Soeur Chugg and Soeur Hurst well since TRC is in a different building we got off and I was told to come back on at 5:45pm and so i slept until about 5:30pm and woke up just in time to get ready which really means me crawling out of bed onto the floor putting my pilllow on the seat so I dont get a numb bum:) and then wrapping my blankets around me just like I did back home. Well once we got the Cameras to work(sometimes they can be a bigger pain in the but than they're worth)The two Sisters seemed pretty happy and as our teachers told them what they could improve on I could see their eyes puff up and get watery and what our teachers were saying wasnt harsh at all they were telling them they did a great job and they were giving them pointers on what we could do together(including me)to improve on our teaching skills and really invite the spirit into the lesson and to testify of the truth of our lesson. Well all of a sudden they both just began to cry and the teachers looked at eachother then to me then back at eachother and then the girls. After I saw this I hurried and said a prayer that heavenly father could help me find a scripture or give me a thought of what to say to these two sister missionaries to help them remember your love for them and comfort them and as I finished i quickly skimmed through the scriptures but nothing was really poping out at me and I knew God was going to help me to help them I just needed to have more faith so I prayed again and again began to flip pages like a twilight addict with a new book(thats for you Courtney, Chelsea, and Arielle) and still I couldn't find anything and I knew the Lord was with me I just had to really think about it and as I pondered I pictured Jesus Christ spreading God's love to all the people not by telling them but by showing them God's Love for them. At first I didnt know what the heck it meant so i began reading scriptures again and then I pictured my suit in the closet hanging up name tags and all(yes mom it was hanging up even on hangers) and again I didnt understand but then I put two and two together and before I could think another second I was throwing my pjs on the ground for I knew that God wanted me to go to the Sisters in class and use me as a tool in his hand and show them his love for them. In about 2 min. I was dressed From my suit coat and tie to my Goldtoe socks and my ecco shoes. As I was escaping from Quarantine I remembered how was I going to get back in? My blue card doesnt work on this floor only security and admin. have access as I was thinking I was still walking out of my Isolation room and as I departed from it I almost fell on top of Elder Cook one of the newest members to the Quarantine family :) I told him the story and he agreed to let me back in. So I was off and as I approached the Classroom I had to be quite as not to let the other Francais districts see me because they would blow my cover for sure. So I took the back hall and the door was open enough I could slide in without touching the door as I entered everyone was on there knees and Soeur Roubicek was praying in Francais and to my surprise I was able to understand most of it. As she said a nom de Jesus Christ Amen I said belated AMEN! and the two sisters looked up with big smiles on their faces and the teachers had puzzled looks on theirs, and before anyone could say anything I looked at the two sisters and declared "GOD LOVES YOU! God loves you so much he wanted me to personally come to class and bear witness of it to you. He loves you so much and appreciates your sacrafices you Soeur Chugg for leaving behind your BF Adam and putting your education at BYU Idaho on hold to give him the best 18 months of your life if you will strive to do your best and always remember to ask God for strength and help he will give it to you and you Soeur Hurst even though your neck hurts you dont complain you look for the good in your trails you left behind your BF Mike and after receiving your Associates in Business from SLCC instead of going to U of U to get your bachaleors you chose to come on a mission first and by putting me above all you will be greatly blessed and is grateful for your service even though its only been 3 weeks he knows your trying your best and he promises that if you keep trying your best and you study hard and dont quit He will bless you in all the work that you do now in the Mission field and later in your Business career. Then I felt light headed and had to sit down for a second but I wrote it all in my journal its like 4 pages from jus that day It was a really cool experience for me. Well thats my email hope you like it send it to the family for me because im only allowed to email you and dad. Also tell everyone in the ward to write me I need letters I am sooooo bored without communication with the outside world. I love you soooo much and cant wait to hear from you
Love/ Elder Van Dyke
P.S. send me real food the quarantine food almost killed me but luckily I survived of Chips and %2 Milk
November 13, 2009
So i forgot to write down my email adress from last time so if you could send me the email address so i can access that one next time that would be greatly appreciated... Any ways here is my letter to everyone... have dustin take a copy of it to the O.G. for any one that would like to read it... Hey everyone!!! the MTC is great its not bad as everyone said it would be. I am having a great time with my companion Elder Williams and my roommates Elder Nufer and Elder Rodriguez they are amazing and so in tune with the spirit. Right now in my district the flu is going around and currently we have 2 Elders and 2 Sisters down but hopefully no one else will get sick. I get bored sometimes so if you get time please feel free to send me letters through Dearelder.com if you need my address ask my parents they would be happy to give it to you. Yesterday we went to this thing called TRC which stands for Teaching Resource Center and what it is, is they put us in simulations with "investigators" and we teach them the first lesson. Its a great experience. My TRC companions are Sister Chugg and Sister Hurst since I am what they call a SOLO missionary which is unusual(suits me best) but what it means is when I came in I was the only French speaking missionary so instead of a french speaking companion I get two french speaking sisters instead. Our first lesson went really well I was an amazing experience even though they are just simulations we can still feel the spirit so strong and it helps me to bear my testimony even better which I absolutly love. When people say you can feel the Spirit everywhere in the MTC they arnt lieing i do feel it everywhere i go here. The food is good the effects of it not so much no matter how much we bless it LoL I miss you all and cant wait to hear
from you. Remembre if you want to write me the best way is Dearelder.com until I get into the field. But since its so hard to get all of your addresses I promise you if you write me I will always reply ALWAYS! I miss you all and if you have any questions about my mission or the MTC or
anything feel free to WRITE ME *hint *hint I love getting mail its the highlight of my day next to bearing testimony and finally being able to pray in French. Anyways i'm running out of time so again I love you all and miss you soooooo much T.T.Y.L.(Talk to you later) P.S. WRITE ME!!!
from you. Remembre if you want to write me the best way is Dearelder.com until I get into the field. But since its so hard to get all of your addresses I promise you if you write me I will always reply ALWAYS! I miss you all and if you have any questions about my mission or the MTC or
anything feel free to WRITE ME *hint *hint I love getting mail its the highlight of my day next to bearing testimony and finally being able to pray in French. Anyways i'm running out of time so again I love you all and miss you soooooo much T.T.Y.L.(Talk to you later) P.S. WRITE ME!!!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Mission Call
Elder Joshua VanDyke,
You have been called to the Washington D.C. North Mission where you will speak French.
You have been called to the Washington D.C. North Mission where you will speak French.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
