Que quieres de mi?

Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't notice you were standing there. What was that? You were waiting to read my email? Oh, I see.

So what would you like to hear today? Would you like to hear about how I hit my year mark in a couple of weeks? Do you want to hear me talk about how fast time flies or how much I've grown and have enjoyed my time as a missionary? Or perhaps you'd love to hear all about the Latino cuisine that I inhale every day or the ability to cook Hispanic meals that is growing in me. Did you come looking for stories of angels and the spirit of the Lord burning inside of the investigators we are teaching? Maybe you are looking for some Spiritual edibles and want me to share a few powerful scriptures I've learned a little more about this week so that you too may be filled. Ticking-time, tortillas, testifying and improvising. Morning workouts, companion exchanges, Scripture study and Glenn Beck conversion stories. With so many branches to this tree of daily experiences I don't know what to feed you! 

I think I'll just relax a bit and say that I'm not looking back. Close to a year has gone by and another year is left. It feels like I've been in another country out here. I might as well be, this is Georgia. :) And I am happy to be here. My new companion Elder Thomas and I are really trying to pull things together. We have been getting a lot of new investigators lately which is causing our teaching pool to leave it's shallow beginnings. but with all of these people with different backgrounds and needs one can easily get scatter brained and let them be swept under the rug. It's a good thing the Creator of the Universe is on our side with this. His planner can organize and retain a lot more information that ours. 

It really makes me happy to hear of experiences my fellow missionaries around the world are having. Honestly it makes be beam inside to hear that so many of my brethren are still my 'brethren in the Lord' (Alma 17:2). The only 'looking back' I'm doing now is to remember the faces that I love so much and then quickly look forward and hope for the day to see them again. Family, friends, investigators and all. 

It's still a bit chilly down here but we stay warm as we continue to get fed spicy, hot Mexican food! I really am learning to cook a bit more. I am working on successfully creating tortillas from scratch. On the honor my the Latin blood running through my veins, which is non existant, I will create an authentic Latin meal for my family upon my return! Of course as well as call them all to repentance from their lives of worldliness. :) Isn't that what return missionaries are for? Ah, I have time to figure it out. :)

Loveyoubye!

Elder Vance

Elder Vance and his new companion Elder Thomas

So our top investigators right now are all english speakers. One black woman named Tiffany and a white couple with a small daughter. The white couple are so awesome. The husband has a harder time understanding things quicker so we are going at a slower pace but they are super sincere. The very first thing they asked us about was the Word of Wisdom, 'What's up with the no-coffee thing'. Cause her brother had actually just got baptized this past December. they are glad that we met them and they said that we are cool :) Yay for being cool!

I can't say a whole lot about other investigators because most of them we've only met with once. We got twelve new last week and twelve new the week before. Most from Mexico. We talked to a referral last night someone gave us and now have a super nice new investigator from El Salvador. I think he actually thought Spanish was my first language for a bit. He was like, "So do you study English here too?" haha, I was just like, 'Well, English is my first language...So Yes." Oh the gift of tongues, you!

We are 'winning over' this Catholic lady little by little. She is nice but came on very strongly as a 'well I can't talk to you I'm Catholic' kind of thing. Just the other day we got into her home for twenty minutes and I taught them about Temple Marriage and then said a prayer with her whole family. She has a sort of joking-ness about us. Like, before we came she was like, 'Well I have company right now and they are all Catholics. So if they hear that Mormons are coming they will all run away!' We also busted the myth about multiple wives right off the bat. We never go in a say how it used to happen, but depending on the depth of their question we usually just say, 'No, that's a rumor that's not true. I don't think I could handle more than one wife.' And then we laugh and become the good guys :)

No one super close to baptism yet but I will let you know how that goes. We just need to get people to churchhhhh!!!!!! :)))))

Elder Vance