Pictures

Oh yea I almost forgot We went to Bill Marriots house today for P-Day and I will send another email with those pictures. Did you know that Bill is LDS? I sure didnt.

April 28, 2010

Sorry I didnt write last week some things came up that I had to take care of and I didnt have alot of time. Elder Olson and I have been really busy getting work done.
Just last Sunday Helene received the Holy Ghost and Marius who has been a member for almost 1 year had his named anounced and he received the Melchizadek Priesthood. Pretty cool Sunday. Elder Olson and myself have also been really busy pulling pranks on our roommates (see pictures) We have also spent alot of hours searching for Less-Actives and alot of them have moved and their phones dont work so we have alot of "Lost" members out here.
Funny story so after 6 months I have finally made my first big language mistake. Before I would maybe mix up words and put pronouns in the wrong spot or something grammatical like that well the other day we were teaching Helene about Family History and Temples and we told the story about the people who drowned in the big flood during the time of Noah and how those people need their work done well I didnt realize how similiar the word for Drown and the work for Naked are so instead of saying the people the Drowned I said "The People that were Naked during the big flood." UHHHH..... OPPS... haha we had a good laugh about it though. Her face oh man her face was just so funny...
We did have a guy tell Elder Olson and I that Mormons dont even believe in the 10 commandments we told him we do and he said well you sure dont follow them. ummm... okay crazy guy you can think what you want well we asked him were he got his "information".... the internet... do you believe everything you find on the internet? Man some people... Satan has really got a hold on society and he isnt going to let go anytime soon. So my warning for this week... Dont believe everything you find on the internet... Remember Moroni 10:3-5 The Holy Spirit isnt limited to testify only of Gospel truths but ALL truths. Just please remember that. Love you ALL
-Elder Van Dyke

April 8, 2010

This week has been an amazing week. Elder Olson and I are getting along really well and he has been helping me learn French ALOT! I am begining to teach alot more now. I am still struggling with understanding but according to Elder Olson I understand alot more compared to the other missionaries when they were new. He says I can speak it alot more fluidly too.

Sorry for not emailing yesterday we are going to the baseball game today as a mission and so President Mansell changed P-day to today. Dont worry I havent completly forgotten about you.

I hope everyone watched General Conference. It was weird not watching it at home in my pajamas. I hope you all were able to get the things that you needed from it. I know as a missionary there were alot of things I found really useful not only for myself but for my Investigators and their familys.

This Sunday is the Baptism for Helene! We are so excited and she is even more so because now she can "be baptised the right way" and she always reminds us :) she is going to be an amazing new member you can feel the spirit everytime you walk into her home there is something about her and her home that make me feel comfortable almost as if i was teaching here in my own home back in Utah. Marie found a way so now she can come to all of Church every other week and then Sacrament meeting the other weeks. She is so happy and is really excited to be able to come every week now.

Elder Olson and I are really getting the work going now. There were a few things that were missing with Elder Mezerai but Elder Olson has shown me the rest of the things that we need to do. When President first made the changes I was really upset and worried but now I can see its not President who makes the changes Its the Lord and after seeing the change not only in my companionship but also in the zone I just need to relax and know that the Lord knows what He is doing and everythings will be all right.

I dont know if you have been watching the weather for D.C. lately but it is HOTT!!!!! President gave us the go for taking off the suit coats. I guess this is one of the earliest times they have ever done it because usually they dont take off suit coats until the end of April. The Humidity factor really does add alot.

Elder Olson received this Official Canadian Temperature Conversion Chart from his Mother who is also Canadian I really enjoyed it and decided it would be fun to share with you all. I am having a wonderful here so dont worry about me just remember to keep President Monson and those searching for the gospel in your prayers. I Love you all and may God Bless you

-Elder Joshua Van Dyke

The Official Canadian Temperature Conversion Chart

50° Fahrenheit (10° C)
· Californians shiver uncontrollably.
· Canadians plant gardens.

35° Fahrenheit (1.6° C)
· Italian Cars won't start
· Canadians drive with the windows down

32° Fahrenheit (0° C)
· American water freezes
· Canadian water gets thicker.

0° Fahrenheit (-17..9° C)
· New York City landlords finally turn on the heat.
· Canadians have the last cookout of the season.

-60° Fahrenheit (-51° C)
· Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
· Canadian Girl Guides sell cookies door-to-door.

-109.9° Fahrenheit (-78.5° C)
· Carbon dioxide freezes makes dry ice..
· Canadians pull down their earflaps.

-173° Fahrenheit (-114° C)
· Ethyl alcohol freezes.
· Canadians get frustrated when they can't thaw the keg

-459.67° Fahrenheit (-273.15° C)
· Absolute zero; all atomic motion stops.
· Canadians start saying "cold, eh?"

-500° Fahrenheit (-295° C)
· Hell freezes over.
· The Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup

March 31, 2010

So this week we had Fast and Testimony meeting. It was amazing. We confirmed Daniel and Gabriel members of the church. It was such an amazing experience to give someone the Gift of the Holy Ghost. I could just feel the Love from God to these young boys it was amazing. Before I was really nervous and didnt want to do it because I didnt know what to say I had never done it before. Well I did it and There was a long pause after I said "Receive the Holy Ghost" I was thinking Oh no why isnt anything coming and then all of a sudden I started getting all these things to say and I knew they were directly from God. It was an amazing experience. The best part was during the meeting Daniel wanted to bear his testimony and once we got up there He was just Blank faced and didnt know what to say it was really funny. But then I gave mine and he stood up there with me it was really cool.

Helene went up and bore her testimony it was really awesome you could feel the spirit in her words as she testified of her knowledge and faith in the Savior and as she testified of all the things we had taught her it was amazing she is really progressing to her Baptismal date which is on April 11 then we have Guy and Mouna and their little daughter Gidnee she is hilarious. Well we finally got them to come to church they were late but they made it. I Love the memebers of our branch because they just make everyone feel so welcomed and a part of our family.

Well big news Elder Mezerai is going to D.C. North to be the new District Leader and Im staying here in Takoma Park for a little bit longer. I am Receiving Elder Olsen he is from Utah and he has about 8 months left I think so he knows quite a bit of French. Elder Bishop one of our roommates is going home TODAY!!! We got to meet his parents. Elder Bishop actually knows Jake and he had been over to Uncle Cals quite a few times. Well we are really excited for the new Transfer and the only sad part about the whole transfer is Elder Hirschi who speaks just about as good of French as Elder Mezerai well he is going to the English program and he is definatly not happy about that one bit. Because the APs told him that he wont come back to the French program and that he is probably going to die in the English program. So that was the only negative about the whole transfer other than that everything is really good.

We have 3 sisters who speak French at the V.C. now so that will be alot of fun and then we received one new Elder his name is Elder Anderson he had the same instructers as me in the MTC. Its really funny because when he got here he pretty much knew all about me Soeur Roubicek and Frere Kelly talked about me alot he said LoL. Anyways I dont have my camera cord so I cant send picture right now but I will send some next week I promise. I Love you all and God Bless you

-Elder Joshua K Van Dyke

March 23, 2010

Hey Family

How is everyone doing. The Mission is going great we have been hit with some major rain for a couple of days but it is all good now. Nice bright sun for today. Today we went to the Washington D.C. Temple it was amazing so beautiful. I love the feelings I get when I attend the Temple.

Anyways Elder Mezerai and I have been doing alot of finding lately and alot of teaching. I love teaching my brothers and sisters who are looking for the "truth" as they all call it. It is a really amazing experience to see they understand the gospel and when they put their faith to work and act upon it and they find their own testimonies AHHH!!! What an amazing thing to see.

I love all my brothers and sisters out here. They are so kind and patient with my French which is improving slowly but surely. When I first got my call and I saw that I was going to be serving state side I was happy but at the same time like STATE SIDE!!! I really wanted to go some place cool and different. Oh boy was I ever wrong. D.C. is like every country in the entire world put into one small square of land. I have eaten so many different kinds of foods from Fou-Fou to Rabbit and Kous-Kous to Catipillar. Next week we are having either Squirrel or Ground Hog which every Sister Louise catches in her trap this week. I never though I would be having such a variety of culture in my LIFE!!!

This week we were able to teach Helene who when we asked her to read the Book of Mormon studied Mosiah 18 and took 1 full page front and back of notes. Then when we checked on her she told us the entire story and told us what we were suppose to teach her. Well this week we taught her about baptism because we gave her a date last time and she accepted it but was a little unsure of it because she was already baptised by immersion well we showed her a movie about baptism and talked about proper authority well after all we did Elder Woffinden(Senior couple) Pull out the Gospel Principles manual and showed her the picture well come to find out it all clicked for her after she saw that because when she was baptised the she went into the water by herself and the preacher stood on the land and she dunked herself so it all made sense to her after Elder Woffinden showed her that one little picture. As we were leaving we reminded her about her baptism and she said "I want to be baptised and this time the right way with someone IN the water WITH me!!!"

It was really funny and then the next day during district meeting she called us and said she had a dream about the Lord and she said it was amazing and that when she woke up she wanted to read her Book of Mormon but couldnt find it and asked if we took it well we all checked our bags and come to find out ELDER MEZERAI STOLE HER BOOK OF MORMON!!! LoL it was really funny because he was the first one to say I know I dont have it and after we all checked our bags he said Im sure I dont have it but I guess I will check my bag and there it was! We had a good laugh about that and Helene thought it was pretty funny after we explained it to her. She was just happy to get her Book of Mormon back.

Next month Elder Mezerai and I have 4 baptism so far but transfers end on the 31 so we dont know if we will still be together but after a talk with President im about 80% sure Im staying here with him. But you never know. Well I have to go I Love you all and would love to hear from you. Write me! Oh Chelsea HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY!!! and Mom, Dad HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!! I hope it is a great one.

Love,
-Elder Van Dyke

March 17, 2010

Salut ma Famille!
This week was really cool we baptized the two sons of Marie. Daniel and Gabriel. Elder Mezerai baptized Daniel and I baptized Gabriel. Really cool experience. Our "3rd missionary" PaPa Denis he is a 65 year old African from Congo he has been living with President and Sister Miller (Branch President) well whenever we needed a 3rd male he would come with us and he was suppose to go back to Congo on Monday he spent Friday-Sunday packing everything up couldnt sleep because he was so excited/stressed so the Millers take hime to the Airport at 5:00am Monday morning after they get all his bags checked and pay and extra $150 for all that the Lady at the counter asks for him Passport so he gives it to her and it was EXPIRED!!! SINCE 2008!!! the Millers about had heartattacks they love PaPa Denis and just love him so much they spent almost all of Sunday in tears well when they found out he wasnt leaving oh man! One of the Sisters in the ward Sister Monica went with them and she said they both froze up for about a minute and they sister Miller finally started to speak and try to figure out a way to get him on that plane but President Miller who is about 6'2-6'4 just stood there in a daze Sister Monica said that she felt so bad but then when she got back to her apartment she said that she just blew up in laughter and couldnt contain her self. It was a very interesting/funny experience but they finally got everything all settled and he got a temporary Passport to go back to Congo so he will have to reapply for one once he gets there but he is leaving Friday.

I also failed to tell you that I broke my hockey stick but dont worry President Miller works at the temple and he is the head person of maintenance so he is going to take it to the wood shop and fix it for me so all is well :) You know i couldnt survive another 6 months without any hockey. I heard the good news that Canada won Gold and Silver in Men's and Women's hockey and won the most Gold medals. So that was good to hear.

The mission is doing excellent right now. We are kind of worried for transfers because Elder Mezerai and I got things going here in our Area and we dont want to get changed up now. So hopefully the spirit will guide President Mansell to keep us together for atleast 1-2 more transfers. We will see on Mar. 31

Right now we are working with a Women her name is Helene we went and checked up on her the other day taught a little bit about Baptism and set a date for April 11 it was amazing when we got there we asked her how her reading was going we assigned her to read Mosiah 18 well she pulled out her Livre de Mormon and she opened up to Mosiah 18 and there was a full sheet of white lined paper full front and back of writing so we were really nervous and we asked "are those some questions you had?" She said no I read and studied it and wrote down everything that I understood. Our jaws about hit the floor!!! She did a Book of Mormon study by herself!!! She is the first investigator that has ever done that according to Elder Mezerai and probably the first out of all the members and most of the missionaries too! When we saw the effort she had put into reading and praying we knew right then to set a baptismal date and for the first time since I have been here see answered without a seconds hesitation YES! You could feel the spirit in the room so strongly.

We also figure out that night that Sister Woffinden(Elder Woffinden's Wife) Can read French! She cant speak it except to say Hello, Goodbye, and Thank You but she is amazing at reading it she says she can read it but doesnt understand a single word she just read. We dont care! Now we can use both of the Woffindens for our appointments before we could only use Elder Woffinden because he went to France on his mission and he can still speak it really well. I hope I will still be able to speak and understand French when i'm 62. Well those are some of the few miracles that happened to us this week. I Love you all
-Elder Van Dyke
P.S. DUSTIN AND NATHAN WRITE ME BACK!!! Dont make me send Chelsea after you!

March 9, 2010

This week has been a Crazy week. Sorry for my short messages the last couple of weeks we have been really busy finding and not alot of teaching but we are on a good stream of both right now. But anyways

This week we baptized Marie's two boys Daniel and Gabriel. I batized Gabriel and Elder Mezerai baptized Daniel it was an amazing experience They both scream when they got in the water even though it was really warm. I guess they spirit was just too overwhelming for them :) We also Confirmed Marie a member it was really cool. Elder Mezerai and myself are working really hard to reach our goal of 6 baptizms this month. We have two and we should have for sure 3 more the rest of this month and one we are not 100% sure of yet but the Lord is helping us to know with a surety that we will reach the goal. So weve put our best foot forward and we continue on. Our best Member Missionary that we take with us EVERYWHERE whenever we are in need of a 3rd Male he is GOING HOME!!! Back to Congo on Monday so now we have to use our Senior Couple the Woofindens which is kind of a hassle becasue they never say No but we feel like maybe we might overwhelm them with all the appointments we need them for but they say its all right. We will see.

So this week during our lesson with Marie and Daphne and the two boys Daphne asked what a Patriarchal Blessing is so we explained it and she WANTS IT!!!! So we explained it to hear a little deeper and she was asking questions left and right and she was just so excited so I showed her mine and what it looks like. Well I realized I havent looked at it since the 2 week I was in the MTC. So for Personal study the last 2 days Ive been studying my Patriarchal Blessing and WOW!!! It makes alot more since now then it did just 4 months ago. I talks alot about my mission and the things it says are just amazing. So I just wanted to put a question in all your minds. When was the last time you looked at yours? If you dont have one. Why not? They are amazing I realize now how important it is that we have them. They are like a 3rd set of scriptures but they are meant for only one person. YOU!!! How cool is that. God loves you soooo much that we wanted you to have a little help in like its kind of like for example life is a test and so God didnt want us to know all the answers so thats why we had to pass through the veil of forgetfulness and then we didnt want us to be completly oblivious so he sent us prophets and teachers and they those that are memebers of the church we have Patriarchal Blessings that are another guide that give us a greater direction and knowledge of what we need to do. I know I have only been in this World for 19 years but in my Patriarchal Blessing it lets me see the years before this life and it goes on to tell me of all the wonderful blessings i will recieve in the life after this one. How cool is that! I know that if we all will spend just a few minutes going over our own Patriarchal Blessings and look at all the promises the Lord has given us we will know what we have done and what needs to be done.

Well I Love you all and for those of you who dont know what a Patriarchal Blessing is. Ask a member or better yet ask a missionary. They are a wonderful blessing to have and Really will help you understand things more clearly. I Love you write me :)
Love Elder Van Dyke

February 24, 2009

D.C. from Antartica to the Bahamas or close enough

Okay so this last week many many many miracles. Marie the mother of Daphne was baptised she said she wanted to be baptised the first week of March the day after her birthday but then on Friday night she called and said that she got a prompting to be baptised this SUNDAY!!! So that was really cool and we are teaching her two 8yo boys Daniel and Gabriel(twins) they are a handful but a delight. Then that same Sunday and old investigator we dropped Martial got a new job and has Sundays off so he wanted to come to church with us and so he got to see both the Confirmation of Daphne and the Baptism of Marie and he wants to start having the lessons again so we are super excited about that. We know he is just going to be great now that he is on the right tract. The snow here is clearing up pretty fast especially with all the rain we have been having it has melted the snow almost completly off of the lawns but the sidewalks and roads are still packed full of snow/ice and it isnt going anywhere anytime soon. Tomorrow is Zone Conference my first one! I came in the day after we had ours in January so Im excited for that. Everything is going good here. Today for P-Day we got up at 5:00 and went to D.C. to take Sunrise pictures which I have included we went to the Lincoln memorial to take them. We also went to the White House to take pictures and then we went to the Halocaust memorial museum which was really intense but I liked it. I love studying about wars and stuff and Hitler even though he was very twisted and evil was very smart and knew what he was doing and how to get his way. It was a really great teaching/Golden Question opprotunity which we used to our advantaged you would be surprised how many people wanted to hear more about the Plan of Salvation especially with what they just saw. So all in all it was a great experience. I have included the pictures that we took. I will talk to you next week. Love you all and passe un bonne journee(have a great day)
-Elder Van Dyke

February 17, 2010 Pictures

February 17th, 2010

The weather here hasd been insane!!! We have spent probably 30 hours on shoveling and 10-15 hours on pushing cars out/pushing cars up hills/pushing cars WHEREVER!!! Im glad to have lived in Utah and Canada and know what snow is really like. Whenever Elder Mezerai and I stop and help people they always ask us where we are from and when I say Canada they always say something to the tune of "Oh so this is like nothing to you then" "Your a proffesional then aren’t you" or my personal favorite "You drive Dog sleds in Canada Right?" I Love it.

Elder Mezerai and I get in alot of doors because neither of us or American (full American in my case) which really helps and I probably know more African dialects then I do French now. I have learned more about Africa in the last month then I have in all 6 years of Jr. High and High School its amazing how much different it really is coming from a Native then from a text book and a boring teacher. I LOVE the people hear they are so friendly and its really easy to change topics from weather and sports to Religion. The name tag really helps too :) French is coming along very well our Investigators Love the fact that im trying to learn their language so they help me out alot when I struggle.

Today we had tranfers and guess who is staying in the same area with his same companion... ME!!! Thank goodness I need to stay with the True French Man alot longer than I have so far. I have lots more to learn. Well nothing has really been happening thanks to all the snow. The work will continue to be slow for about another 2-3 weeks while people make up the money they lost while everything was shut down. Everything is going good here Im staying healthy somewhat (Afican food isn’t healthy at all especially with all the Palm Oil they use) I cant wait to hear from you. Until next week I love you all and be good :) -Elder Van Dyke

February 8, 2010

My letter for everyone else

Sorry im writing you now and not on Wednesday like usual. We have had crazy snow! Its a record or atleast thats all we have heard were just missionaries so we dont get the most up to date news. We had 2 1/2 feet at our apartment. We spent the last couple of days(Saturday, Sunday) and Today shoveling out Cars, Driveways, Sidewalks, EVERYTHING!!! The snow plows are not helping either.

The area is still going great Church was cancelled which sucked for alot of us because that meant the cancellation of Baptisms(not us) But Good news actually GREAT news rememeber Daphne? Well her Mom is so in tune with the Spirit and she doesnt even have it yet! Crazy!!! Well she has finally decided she wants to be baptized she says she feels its the right things and she knows it but she is going to wait until her two boys Daniel and Gabriel understand the Gospel enough so that they can be baptized all together and then they will be an amazing family which they almost are now all they need is the Gospel :)

The work has been a little hard with the earthquake in Haiti still but when we talk about the Plan of Salvation with them it really brings comfort to them. One thing Ive learned so far(3 1/2 months) You can never say to many prayers. I counted how many prayers we said in one day it was 10 prayers and thats just for us not including the other 7 we said with investigators. 17 prayers in one day. Do you think Heavenly Father is up there going oh no Elder Van Dyke not another one? Of course not I bet he is up there saying Yes! Yes! Time to talk with my Son :)

Have you ever thought deeply about prayer. No you havent well serve a mission you will learn to appreciate prayer alot more. It has taken me 11 years to really understand what prayer is. Prayer is how we talk to God. Your probably saying Elder Van Dyke I knew that before you were born well let me ask you this. How often do you pray? How long do you pray? Do you really say your prayers with all your Heart and Strength? If you answered no to any of these then dont worry start now make today the day that you are really going to talk with your Father in Heaven but when you finish dont just say Amen and walk away Stay on the "line" let your Father talk back to you as much as we love getting advice from our Earthly parents how much more should we hunger for advice from Our Heavenly Parents? They want to talk to us and give us advice and help us along we just need to ask for it and then LISTEN for it. I have a testimony that Prayer is one of the most important things we could do here right now. Even if you dont have the same beliefs God still wants to hear from you even if you dont think anyone is listening just remember there is ALWAYS one person listening and watching out for us and wants to help us along our way so I would ask you to say a meaningful prayer tonight and really bear your whole heart and soul to your Father in Heaven and I promise if you do this you Will feel his Love for you and the many blessings that come with that Love.

I Love you all too but I cant love you as much if you dont write me :) (See how I turned this around) I will write later this week if not I will for sure write next Wednesday. "See ya next week and remember keep your stick on the ice" (Red Green show)

February 3, 2010

You need to send all of my mail and anything else that you send me to the mission office because if I move to another apartment then my mail might not get to me so just send everything to the mission home address and they will forward it on to me. Money is going good I have extra money so I must be a smart shopper or something. I receive $160.00 each month they gave me a Debit Card from JPMorganChase with my name and everything and they just put the money on the card each month. We should be getting a new car soon we hit 50,000 miles on this one so they will give us a new car to destroy... did I say destroy I meant drive :) Im doing really well...

Im glad Chase came to church what about Ryan and Alex? Tell them all to write me I wrote all of them and I expect something back. Anyways back to ME! I am doing good we are having a tough time with investigators because they are all African everyone not a generalization I mean everyone we teach is African. They are really laid back a little too laid back. They really accept the gospel and everything we teach but when it comes time for Sunday and they actually have to do something they all of a sudden get "sick" or have to "work" or any excuse they can find but thanks to Elder and Sister Woofinden they have one less excuse and that one is usually I dont have a car and I dont want to walk... Well guess what have we got a deal for you :) but the area is going good I emailed my teachers back at the MTC and Soeur Roubicek (served in Quebec)

She is teaching an Elder who is going French speaking Washington D.C. only problem is D.C. French is only 3 areas and the oldest Elders is only 19 months and so we talked to Pres. about it and he said that the French are going to have a turn in the English program...NO!!!!!!! right now we have 6 Elders 2 speak really good French 1 is French but the other 2 Elders and myself don't speak or understand it very well so that means we are losing 2 Elders from the French program and gaining 2 more who can't speak French so we dont know whats going to happen but hopefully they send the 2 new Elders to the English program first.

Right now we have 2 Baptisms planned for this month really exciting. Other than that everything is going good and the work is going. Oh I almost forgot in case you havent seen the weather for D.C. guess what SNOW!!!! and lots of it. Problem I love the snow its my favorite I especially love blizzards only thing is in the French mission no one lives close to us so we have to go by car EVERYWHERE!!! but when it snows if there is even 1 in. that sticks to the ground we get LOCKED DOWN!!! until Pres. clears us to drive again.(So much for learning to drive in 2 feet of snow in Utah) But we have lots of fun like Sleep,Eat,Call(investigators),Sleep,write letters, Sleep and pretty much catch up on Sleep. Well I cant think of anything else to write I Love You ALL!!! Talk to you next week... Bye :)

January 27, 2010

BIG NEWS!!! Just had my first baptism January 24, 2010. Her name is Daphne. We have been teaching her and her mother for about 2 months I've taught only two lessons and they went great. Daphne is English speaking and her mother Marie is French speaking. Daphne and Marie were suppose to be baptised together but she doesnt want to worship Joseph Smith... Looks like we need to talk a little bit more about who Joseph Smith is and what a Prophet is... But dont fret all things are done on the Lord's time.

French is going alot better now im understanding alot more then I was my first couple of weeks. I hope everything goes well with the family they are in our prayers. Tell Chelsea the doctor told me I tested negative too and then the good doctor poked my appendix and said does that hurt well I think you have appendicitis lets do an MRI of you abdomin. Good thing he finally asked me what hurt and took a look rather than just stupid blood tests.

I have attached pictures of the baptism the group picture from left to right is Sister Woofinden, Elder Hirschi(like the chocolate), Elder Bradford, Daphne, Marie, Myself, and Elder Mezerai. Elder Hirschi and Elder Bradford are the other French speaking Elders who are in the DC North area and I havent met the other 2 French speaking Elders yet. The next picture is of Daphne and I and the next picture is Our roommates and us at the bowling alley for Zone Activity today. From left to right me, Elder Bishop, Elder Mezerai, and Elder Chandler. Elder Bishop and Chandler are English speaking Elders. The last picture is of the whole Zone(Don't even ask me for their names I can barely get half of them)
Anyways I am having alot of fun in the field. Especially all the sirens and people swearing at us. The only thing that keeps me going is knowing that when this is all over I know that I was fighting for the "good guys" Anyways I love you all and will send you another letter next week and dont be scared to write me a letter It gets really boring not having mail to read on P-day.

Love Elder Van Dyke

Also really cool story I forgot to include in my last email. So Yesterday we went and taught a less active member his name is Raymond and the reason he is inactive is his wife passed away 3-4 years ago from cancer. Well I knew he understood English so I broke the French barrier and stopped Elder Mezerai and read him one of my seminary inserts it was a quote from Elder Boyd K. Packer and it was about how we think that we need instant gratification and one of Raymond's problems which he told us was a lot about his wife and how she died but also that when they found out she had cancer that everyone said we will pray for her and keep her in our prayers and then she died so he became inactive and He doesn't believe miracles exist anymore and its mainly because of his Mom who lives with him. She isn't "Mormon" I don't know exactly what she is only that she believes in God and Jesus Christ but she wouldn't shut up about how she doesn't pray for anyone except herself because God wont change his mind and that she also doesn't believe miracles happen anymore well finally I rebuked her and told her that If she isn't praying for anyone but herself she is being selfish and that by only praying for herself those that needed her prayers wont be able to receive those blessings because she is no longer praying for them and finally she was quiet and then I told Raymond about how mom and chelsea both had tumors and that we prayed and fasted for them and the tumors were not positive for cancer and then I told him the story of Uncle Bill and how much he meant to me and that he was suppose to die from cancer before I was even born but that through faith, fasting, and prayer he was able to live a lot longer then he should of and I told him that Uncle Bill taught me a lot of stuff and that because he was able to live longer that I was able to learn those things that I needed to learn from him and that even though I didn't want him to die that I finally realized that for me to not want his to die is selfish of me because one he was suffering and two that even though I love him he is doing 1,000 times greater things on the other side and that I know that he was teaching people on the other side about the Gospel and doing missionary work there. I explained to him that there is no such thing as an accident to God everything happens for a reason I then told him that its sad that his wife is dead now but that she is doing what the Lord needs her to do that She is doing missionary work on the other side we talked some more in French and then we prayed and as we walked out the door I was prompted to ask him I said "Raymond have you been reading your scriptures and saying your prayers every night?" He answered "Yes I have" I then responded "Raymond If you keep reading your scriptures and saying your prayers every night that there is a miracle that is about to happen to you" He then looked me straight in the eye and said "I know what you just said is true... Thank You" Then we left.

It was one of the best lessons I've had the spirit was so strong so long as his mother kept her mouth closed. Anyways send this to everyone and Remember that we all have a strong testimony in the Book of Mormon but have you been reading it? Have you not only been praying for your friends, family and your needs but have you been praying to know that the Book of Mormon is true? Just because God gave you the answer once doesn't mean he wont give it to you again. Its like brushing our teeth if you brush your teeth once and don't do it again will your teeth stay white?(If you answered yes. Email Uncle Larrell and ask his opinion) Ask your Father in Heaven every night every time you read and ask if the Book of Mormon is true.

January 20, 2010

Hey Dad my P-day is going to be every Wednesday now so expect my email a little after noon every wednesday. Also will you please send me my player hockey stick and my player gloves and also TomTom. It is ridiculous to get around here and we are hoping that if we can get TomTom we won't be so lost all the time, and I would like my hockey stick and gloves because im not allowed to work out yet so I want to practice my stick handling so I have something to do in the mornings besides eat :)

My new address is
Elder Joshua Van Dyke
Washington D.C. North mission
11700 Falls Road
Potomac, MD 20854

Right now im not even in D.C. im in MD there is only one French mission that covers D.C. and the apartment isnt even in the D.C. area. My companion is Elder Mezerai he is from France. He speaks amazing French of course. French is freaking crazy hard my first couple of appointments I did'nt understand a single word the investigators were saying. It's getting better now. I can pick out what the basics topic or subject of the conversation is. Everyone asks where im from and when I tell them Canada they all automatically say "Quebec?" It's funny cause then I tell them no Ontario and they don't know where that is LoL its pretty funny.
This week we have 2 baptisms Marie and her daughter Daphnee and then we have 2 baptisms for Feb. with Moise and Michelle and remember I havent taught anyone that is white and none of them are from anywhere else except Africa. They are all really humble and lovable people. I've been able to speak with the people but I havent been able to really understand what they aer saying to me yet. Oh we had rabbit for dinner two nights ago it was really good it is like 100 times better then chicken. But other than that I havent had a lot of African food because the members know that im not use to food like that so they make american food African style so we asked one of the sisters who is feeding us 3 times in the next couple of weeks if she would cook some Afican food for me to try. We will see how that goes :)
Anyways I just wanted to tell you Im doing good I regret not bringing my Ipod with me now. If you find any Cd's that are all hymns send them to me please. I cant stand the same Christmas Hymns over and over and over and over in the car. The only music we are allowed to listen to in the car is hymns so as long as its a hymn it can be played by anyone just had to be a hymn. Well thats all I can think of for now. If you have any questions write me so I can answer them. I love you all lots :)

January 8, 2010

Hello Family and friends. This week in the MTC has been very interesting. Because I have been delayed I lost one of my teachers and gained a new one. His name is Frére Kelly he is really cool i've learned quite a bit from him. Soeur Roubicek showed me that I can speak French which I didnt know was possible for me. Pretty cool to see how much I have learned here at the MTC.
When I returned from the Hospital all of the French teachers from our zone knew that I had surgery on my appendix it was really cool because everyone of them was like "are you okay?" "how are you feeling?" and they would tell me stories of when they had surgery while they were on their missions. Frére St. Claire had surgery on his appendix his first week in the MTC! I couldnt believe it. It was cool having people close to me and being able to talk to them about their experiences with surgery and what helped them the most. I feel alot better now then I did last week so hopefully I can get out of here soon and get to the field. The teachers have also been keeping me busy. I have been teaching each district a lesson from PMG that the teachers have asked me to teach. Its really cool being the teacher and sharing with the districts things that have helped me progress so much and being able to help them progress. I have enjoyed it alot. I wouldnt mind coming back to the MTC to teach after my mission. I dont have much to say this week mainly because I have been sleeping in alot and resting alot so I havent done a whole lot of things but I have been recovering faster.

Well I hope to hear from you all soon love you
-Love Elder Van Dyke

Friday January 1, 2010

Hey EVERYONE!!!

I don't know if my father has told you all already but I had to go to the hospital and get my apendix removed. Let me tell you how this all came about it is a very great story about tender mercies from the Lord.

On Tuesday Dec. 29 I was moving my clothes and luggage and such to my new room because my room mates/companions all left to their missions or to their temporary missions so I had to move into another room with Elders so I wouldnt be alone. As I was moving my new companion Elder Brobbey was helping me and he left the top drawer open and I wasnt paying attention and as I was moving some things I swung my head and smacked it right on the corner of the drawer. I didnt pass out or anything but I did smack my head pretty hard and gave myself a huge headache. On Wednesday Dec. 30 Elder Brobbey suggested that I go to the Doctor because my headache was still pounding away and no matter what medication I took it was still pounding. We went to the Clinic at the MTC and set an appointment for 8:40am. I went to my appointment and found out I had a mild concussion and so Dr. Sampson gave me some excedrin and told me I would be okay in a couple says but If I had any signs of nausea or a change in sight to come back right away.

So by the time that was all done it was almost lunch time so I did some Personal Study and went to lunch after lunch I felt really sick to my stomach so Elder Brobbey took me back to the Doctor and on our way there my sight was going in and out of tunnel vision and my periphial vision was going fuzzy. We got to the clinic and Dr. Sampson took another look and me and sent me to the E.R. at Utah Valley Regional to get a C.A.T. scan of my head and to check out my brain. My results came back normal (as normal as possible for a hockey player haha) and he couldnt describe why I was having stomach problems so The Dr. gave me some morphine for the headache and my stomach and said to rest.

Elder Brobbey and I missed dinner and so the MTC staff made us some sack lunches and we went to GYM while they played I sat and drank my water after about an hour after eating the sandwhich I was given I felt really sick and so I was rushed back to the E.R. but not without receiving a blessing from my companions first. When we got there they gave me some more morphine and took more blood and ran more tests and while Elder Brobbey and I were waiting Pres. Robinson my Branch President showed up to comfort me. The tests all came back as normal once again and they gave me some perkiset for the pain and Pres. Robinson drove us home (MTC).

Thursday Dec. 31 I woke up feeling ill and so I stayed in bed Elder Brobbey stayed with me and then someone called us on the loud speaker and said Dr. Brown wanted to talk to me so security brought us up a cell phone and called Dr. Brown for me and after telling him how I felt he said go back to the E.R. so security took me back to the E.R. and it took for ever for them to give me pain medicine but they took more samples and ran even more tests and the Dr. I had this time had a feeling to take a C.A.T. scan of my stomach after we received those results he said "Out with the appendix" I asked him if I would be delayed he said he wouldnt delay me because of the simplicity of the surgery but it was up to the MTC doctors weither or not I get delayed so yesterday Thursday Dec. 31 I had my appendix removed and was able to see my Dad and talk with him and my Mom and then about 2 hours ago (10:00am) they released me into the real
world a.k.a. Rite Aid and I got all of my pain meds and stuff that I need.

Now I tell you that story because last Monday Dec. 28 I was suppose to leave for Washington D.C. but my Mission President called the MTC and said he would need me until Jan. 5th early in the morning but now because of my surgery the MTC doctors want to delay me for 2 weeks so I can do a follow up appointment with Dr. Watts So I guess the people in Washington D.C. will
just have to wait and become the elect :) I love you all and miss you all I will TTYL Dad I will probably be able to call you on the phone later Im not sure yet

Love Elder Van Dyke