September 22

So this week was an adventure, with a lot of new missionaries coming in there was a confusion in the mission travel account and all the tickets for Silkeborg were frozen, well that means that all travel was halted. While they were working on accounts they switched the entire mission over to another set up which they were planning to do in December anyway and it is called Risecort all missionaries have a card with a magnetic strip and they swipe in at any bus or train and swipe out when they get off and it saves the church money. Well our first trip with this new thing started alright we swiped in and took off to stake conference well we meet 10-12 other missionaries on the train and when we stepped off we just left, about two minutes into walking to the church I turn to my companion and ask where are we supposed to check out, he responded with “oh crap”, we immediately returned and swiped out, crisis averted. That night we had some great talks, one from an RM who served in Africa and gave some great stories, I understood about 35 percent just enough to get the main idea and no details. After the Conference we got on a train to go back with a lot of other missionaries.  They were all headed to sleep in our apartment because Sundays service was to be held in Silkeborg. Well about half way through the ride an attendant was walking through the train checking tickets and we forgot to check in, we had about 23 missionaries in front of us who all had tickets but they knew we forgot to check in so they started to stall until the next stop where we could jump out check in and jump back in. Well the problem with missionaries is they are always prepared on trains and it took about 45 seconds for her to check all the tickets no questions. The train was starting to slow down for the next stop and the last missionary had a trick up his sleeve, he had a ticket from the day before that he gave her and she said this is not going to work and started to write him a ticket(fine) while he fumbled around for his other ticket. The train stopped and we stepped out and checked in and stepped back on, he then found his ticket and she moved on. It was cutting it a little too close for comfort and let me say I will never forget to check in again because my companion is never going to be in charge of the cards again, but it was truly a miracle. The really funny thing is that she never checked me even after I checked in. It was like I wasn't even there. Just a close call I thought you all would get a laugh out of. Later that night we made it to out tiny little apartment and slept 9 there, every square foot of the apartment was covered with missionaries even one who had to sleep in the bathroom. A little cramped but it was all worth it because the meeting on Sunday was fantastic. 

I love you all so much hope you have a great week

love GV

September 15

So This week consisted of Zone Training, Splits, and a Cold

     So the first two or three days of the week we had a normal amount of work, we were able to talk to some new individuals and place one Book of Mormom then came out zone training. Let’s just say our mission just took a giant stride in the right direction. So real quick the past few years have been a little different in the Denmark Mission but this year is the year of change. President Sederholm has set expectations for us to step up and some of them include having a higher plane of thought through changing the media that we listen to, having shorter lessons so instead of the traditional Danish Hukke 2 hour chat they are 15-20 minutes and we challenge everyone to baptism and help them work toward baptism every day. So we were given this counsel by the two general authorities that have come to visit in the past month but many missionaries were... stuck in the rut of the same things. At Zone training President Sederholm laid out the counsel we have been given, the blessings that will come, and then we turned around and started immediately. There were over 500 lessons in this past week, that is like triple from before.

     So splits, right after the conference I went to Horsens with the District Leader and we had splits, it was a ton on fun. We went to a new investigator class and had a discussion with three atheists. The points they made were all about things that I learned in Biology at BYU and so I knew the Church’s stand and I was able to shed a lot of light in the areas that they had questions. I was so glad for that class otherwise I would have been clueless but we didn't have much time to get into anything to deep. We then went to the single ward activity and helped this investigator meet some other people his age who believe in God and let them talk to him for a while. The next morning we studied and headed out to return to Silkeborg.

     A Cold: So Saturday night the members cooked a feast, and I mean it was a Christmas feast with this huge roast and all the traditional Danish sides well it ended with ice cream and American Pancakes (not at all Pancakes) but we left there and went back to the apartment to drop off the left overs and I did not feel good, still not used to the super dense food. The next day was church and I woke up with a slight fever and headache and today it is not any better, it is a bummer but the work will go on. We have had a lot of success following the counsel of president Sederholm and I hope to report more on it next week.

Love ya'll GV

September 8

Apparently Elder Vance is a pro basketball player

So the baptism for ------ will be in three or four weeks he is trying to stop smoking and has to make it to church a couple of more times before he can be baptized but I still email with him and send him some specific scriptures that I find in my personal study for him. I think it might cost about 40 dollars round trip IDK if I am allowed to use my discount card on a personal expense but Ill figure it out and let ya'll know. And that is the miracle story of my best friend in Denmark.

Just finished Alma 13 sounds like you are gaining on me I’ll pick up the pace then. 

What is the bread like there? (Someone from Norway told me our bread tastes like cake.)

The bread for the most part is super dense rye stuff or whole grain. Even the white is not even white but more of a wheat, I like it because it is more filling and a lot more healthy. 

I have bought a coat but I am looking for a light water proof jacket.  I will see what I can find in the Genbrugs (DIs). I will be fine without boots but I would like to get a nice suit before I come home, after Christmas they have really good deals so I will have a couple opportunities to try and find a good price. I also will be keeping an eye out for some good shoes that will go one sale. ECCO from Denmark is really sick and they last forever so I will see what I can find. The shirts that you tailored are great, they are nowhere near the European skin tight things but they are really good to work in.

I can print off sheet music and that would be greatly appreciated, I can’t think of anything else that I want for Christmas mostly just pictures of life on the outside so I don't forget people. I also don't need a bike wrench, I found one in a store the other day for cheap. 

I won't know if I will train until the week before transfers but there are only two elders coming in so IDK If I will be chosen to turn around train but I hope that I will. I heard that if pushes you harder and faster than anything else in the mission. We do not have a CO2 monitor as of right know but we are in the process of getting one. 

What is the best/worst food you have had so far?

The ice cream here is all Italian Gelato,so much better than anything else I have had in my life. The best dish I have had is called Engle Kage, it is a desert like angel cake but the bottom is not a cake but a pastry that just melts and dissolves in your mouth, shear greatness. The worst is liver paste. I had some the other day at an investigators house and I had to excuse myself and went to the bathroom and threw it backup that stuff is just no bueno. 

The ward is boss at fellowshipping and they are really nice. I have eaten with all of them multiple times. They could just be my home away from home. Well 1/8th of my mission is already gone and there is 7/8th left to work. 

So Elder Bednar. To start, there is no way in the world to type all that was discussed in our three hour question and answer session with him but I will write part of the most common theme. 

Faith is a principle of action

-we pray with faith but we have to move forward with action for there to be any promise with the Lord. We are agents and have the ability to choose we are not objects to be acted upon. When we pray we show our desires but when we sit back and wait to be acted upon by the God we become objects and not agents. It is said for missionaries that when we open our mouths we will have the words needed for our investigators but I have never thought about it. We have to open our mouths for them to be filled. We have to show our intent to act. There are many examples in church history but to point out one of the most important would be the Restoration. When the prayer was said in the grove it was not just to know which church was true but to know which church was true so he could join it. It will so important for us to consecrate our prayers with action as well.

Like I said there was 3 hours and this was just the first five minutes but I have a great set of notes that I will be studying for the next couple of months.

The week has been strange, the first couple of days were spent fixing my comps bike over and over and over he had a total of 8 flat tires. Don't ask me how or why, he claims he is like Job but I told him he just doesn't look where he is riding but I love getting my hands dirty so I have perfected the pit stop tire change. I hope you all have a great week love you.

Ældste Vance

September 1

The questions at the beginning are ones I asked and he is answering.

 

Is this the week that Elder Bednar will be there? 

Yes it is, Friday we head off to Copenhagen  to hear from Elder Bednar, I hope I will get the opportunity to shake his hand. I love his talks so much I can't wait to have a Q and A session with him. 

 

Do you have somewhere you can watch conference? 

So for General Conference I will most likely travel to Århus and watch with the other missionaries and that takes all of the two days with translation it is strange but that is what my trainer told me. That is the last week of the transfer as well so that means that he will have to be packed and ready to go the friday before. And the week before that we have stake conference and that means almost everyone on Uland (the not Copenhagen island) will come together at Silkeborg and will meet because it is close to the center. They have rented out a large stadium to house everyone it will be interesting.

 

What is the weather like now?  

So I don't think a day has gone by this last week where it hasn't rained for at least 30 minutes while we are outside riding bikes. I love it!!! The bad news is that my comp is not the best at watching where he is driving and has popped his tire 6 times this week, that means usually somewhere around a 1-2 hour walk home. But is it fun to contact people and explain what happened then they have pity on us and talk longer than normal. 

 

Are the days getting shorter?  

It has been getting darker earlier and earlier, I am supposed to start vitamins soon so I have enough vitamin C so that I won't become depressed. 

 

So to Start with the bad news, our most promising investigator has moved to attend college so he will not be baptized by us. Good news is that my friend from the mtc is now meeting with him and is going to help him continue to prepare for baptism. On the plus side he is still close enough that I can go to his baptism but I have to pay for it out of personal funds. 

 

We have had so many experiences this week I don't know where to start. 

 

The man that progresses: so there is a man who is progressing with great determination despite the language barrier, he doesn't speak Danish (by that I mean he knows less than me a month ago) and he doesn't speak English so it is slow going but he is figuring it out with the BoM and pamphlets we have in Arabic and Russian, it is so good to see his desire to find the truth. It is just a testament to me that I will never teach anyone but they will find for themselves through the power of the holy ghost if the gospel is true. 

 

My Texan Friend:  So there is a lady we were referred to because of or service to a potential investigator, she is a Dane that lived in Texas for 7 years or so and like any Texan she refers toTexas as the” holy land.”   When she found out that I was a Texan as well we were in and then it was only a matter of time before we had an appointment. Well let me just say that she went to a church in Texas and it was a lot like my Baccalaureate when she prayed it was like a song that needed a guitar and drum set on stage. Well we are working with her and she is reading the Book of Mormon to see if what we say is true. 

 

The finding Day in Silkeborg- So about a month ago I was talking to a zone leader and we came up with an idea of a finding day in Silkeborg codename Explode the work. Well the day came and 4 elders rolled in on the train and the work was exploded. We taught two lessons, found 3 potentials, and placed 3 BOM and I think 6 Cards, That is about the same numbers for some areas for a week and that was all done before lunch. Not bad right, then they had to leave and go do some more work somewhere else. We were so thankful for that work. 

 

(Garrett is talking about a challenge he made to us to try to beat him in reading the Book of Mormon, he is reading it in English and Danish, Blake is reading it in Spanish and the rest of us are doing English).

So everyone I just hit Alma but IDK where anyone else is so let me know. 

 

O and some of the progress in Danish, I was able to hold a telephone conversation alone without issues, I was able to hold a long street contact no problem, and I was also able to read some scriptures in Sunday school and give our missionary report to the branch. 

 

We ate at two members houses this week, Let me say they know how to make a man gain 8 pounds in a meal and it starts with dinner and ends with 5 rounds of Ice Cream. 

 

 

Love you all so much wish you the best.

 

Love Elder Vance

August 25

So the Call...

It was Tuesday morning and the Horsens elders were over to go to service with us later in the morning and we were in the middle of companionship studies when Elder Oakley got the first call, it was from the President, and it was at this time when I witnessed what elders do when crazy stuff happens. So Elder Oakley the District Leader made the jump straight to Assistant, and it was crazy. I will send pictures next week I forgot the cord that connects the camera to the computer.

 

Our call was short and it just told us that we are not going anywhere. 

 

Next on the list is our Friday Ghost fight. There is a little old lady that took a Book of Mormon two years ago that has not been interested in meeting with us. So we stopped by and talked with her for a little time and somehow it came out that we had the priesthood and there were ghosts nearby that we needed to go over and pray that they leave people alone. She spoke with a very heavy Usk (?) accent so this is all I and my companion could understand. So we went over to this little trail and talked about the priesthood and then we prayed with her. Anyway we set up another appointment for the next day and came back, suddenly my ears were opened and we had a fantastic lesson with her over Joseph Smith and where the book comes from, she agreed to be baptized if she prays and finds out that it is true. Great Right

 

Our meeting and my testimony of the Gift of Tongues. So there was this man that had come to Denmark from Syria to investigate other religions and we just happened to knock on his door one day and set up an appointment. Well we sat down with him and he explained that Danish was hard for him because he has only been there for a little over 10 months, I said I can sympathize, I have been here for six weeks and he lost it. I could speak a lot better then he could and he just didn’t understand how. Well we gave our message and he is super positive on coming to church and accepted the invitation to be baptized and next week we hope to set a date with him. 

 

So The Sunday of all Sundays

To start with our investigator who is on date came to church, he loved it. We talked with him today and he told us of all the miracles that he saw in the meeting, the talks that were given that touched all of his doubts in the gospel it was powerful stuff. We had two member present lessons that day and two other lessons (a record for Silkeborg) and we got two new investigators. It was one of the most packed days that we have had, let me tell you that the work is alive and growing in Silkeborg unlike it has ever been, that is what I am talking about. 

 

To update you on everything else I am doing well with reading but I couldn't read on the train because I talked in Danish to someone for three hours the way up. After my brain was fried but I can see so much progress now, it is like I just gained some traction on the all of the words and I am remembering so many now. I have had many blessings this week and these are only a couple that I could write.

 

For my Goals I want to be able to read all of the Scriptures in this next year cover to cover in Danish.

I want to be able to so 200 straight pushups without stopping

To play any song out of the Danish childrens’ song book on the Guitar

I want to be able to tell my family that I gave all I had on my mission and that I have no regrets a year from now.

I want to call my family twice.

 

Well that all I have this week love you all

Garrett