Monday, August 28, 2017

A Series of (un)Fortunate Events

Happy Monday everyone! I've heard this is a lot of people's favorite day because they get to read missionary letters. Well hopefully this will make your day. Tuesday was transfers and my new companion is.......... Sister Neuffer! She's from Chicago and super funny. She actually was my Sister Training Leader my first transfer up in Milford. Basically since we have been companions we have seen so many miracles but a lot of crazy things have happened. 

So Tuesday we drive home from transfers and park the car in front of our apartment to get Sister Neuffer's stuff out. We usually park at a parking garage a couple blocks away but we pay the parking meter so we don't have to drag suitcases 4 or 5 blocks around Philly. Well we get everything in and then we make some lunch. Sister Neuffer starts saying the prayer and then I remember that our car is still parked in front of our apartment... We run downstairs but we already got a parking ticket... Oh well that's getting paid today. 

Wednesday President asked us to help pick up the Goldens (new missionaries) from the airport. We left Broomall around 2:30 and their flight was supposed to get in at like 4ish. There was actually 2 flights. One group was coming from the Provo MTC and two elders were coming from the Mexico MTC. They were supposed to be a couple minutes apart but when we got there the group from Provo got delayed and weren't supposed to arrive till 5:30. About 4 the Spanish elder's plane landed but we were all talking and not watching the doors and all of a sudden is see these two missionaries and yell, "Look! There they are!" The assistants and President and Sister Randall jumped up to welcome them. It was so funny. One of the assistants left to take them to the mission office and the rest of us stayed to wait for the other missionaries. But then their flight got delayed again and so they wouldn't be here till 7:30... We were at the airport for like 5 hours... The cool thing was we got to spend 5 hours with President and Sister Randall. Also the assistants but they aren't that cool. 

Thursday we had an AMAZING lesson with Maggie. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and she really loved it. She basically bore her testimony of the Book of Mormon and how much peace it brings in her life. She brought up baptism and we asked if she would like to set a date of October 14 and she said yes! We are so excited for her! 

Friday we taught Lila and she shared a really special experience she had. She was reading the Book of Mormon one day and then had a feeling she should get down on her knees and pray about it. She said she felt like Joseph Smith. After she prayed she just felt really good and for the rest of the day she just felt stronger and happier. Brother Harris said something cute. He said, "When she reads the Book it looks like she has just washed her face. Her whole face is shining." She is so excited to get baptized. Later we had a lesson with Tom. We read 2 Nephi 31 and it was really good. He had had a crazy day and was a little stressed when he came in. But by the end of the lesson he was in a much better mood. It's amazing what a difference the Spirit can make. 

Another awkward story: We were at a bus stop waiting for a bus (obviously) and these three white guys about our age walk past. Me, being the good missionary that I am, said hi to them. Right after I said hi I remembered that in the real world saying hi is sometimes confused with flirting. One of the guys responded, "oh hey there" Sister Neuffer watched them walk down the street and said they kept looking back at us... It was so uncomfortable... THEN! 2 and 1/2 hours later we are in a different neighborhood like a few blocks away and we see them! We were on the same sidewalk as them and it was too late to cross the street. I just looked at the ground the whole time and Sister Neuffer pretended to be in deep conversation with me. They walk past and the same guy says, "oh hi again" with the grossest smirk on his face (according to Sister Neuffer, I was looking at the ground the entire time.) I am so grateful I don't serve in YSA because then we would've had to try and talk to those guys and it would've been so awkward...

Saturday we set a goal to talk to 20 new people and tell them about the Gladys Knight devotional that's coming up. We got out of our lesson at 7 and we still had to eat dinner but we still had 8 more people to talk to. So we said a prayer and started walking. We got the first 5 people so fast. Then we talked to two more so we had one more person to talk to. It was 8:05 and we weren't going in till we talked to 1 more! We got to our apartment and there was no one around but we weren't going in till we hit our goal! Then we saw this guy sitting at the bus stop across the street. So we went to talk to him and his name is Henry and he really wanted to come see Gladys Knight and we also invited him to church for the next day. 

Well the next day I had to give a talk. Brother Heal called us Saturday morning and asked if I would speak. So I shared that story of how we were able to reach our goal. I talked about how even though he didn't show up today, he still knows about the church and we were able to extend that invitation. Well about 15 minutes later, Henry walks in! Sister Neuffer and I look at each other like, "What the heck!" Then he stayed for the rest of church and he really liked it. But he lives in the East elder's area which stinks but he's still in the ward so that's awesome!

Anyway super awesome miracles this week. Heavenly Father wants us to succeed. He will help us in anyway we need to help us reach our goals. Yesterday we had another goal to find a new investigator. Heavenly Father helped us find 2. I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Lots of Love!
Sister Van Buskirk

The parking ticket... ($36)

Monday, August 21, 2017

Just skip this week's email, it's not worth it

We had a pretty good week. Not too much happened, mostly because it's been like 4 days since I last wrote one of these. 

After dinner on Wednesday we taught our investigator, Mona, the Plan of Salvation. After we went through it all she says, "I feel like I've read this in a book somewhere." I love when people say things like that. It's such a great testimony to me that the Plan of Salvation is true. In that moment the spirit was able to testify that this is true and familiar. 

Brother Harris made dinner for us last night since Sister Garner is getting transferred. (Yup, I'm staying in the best area.) He made some collared greens and claimed they are actually good but honestly they tasted like normal collared greens... but Lila made potato salad that was amazing and his roast was really good. Okay this is how uneventful our week was. I'm giving you all a food review. My mom sent me some questions. I'll try and answer some of those to make it a little interesting. 

So now how are things going for you?  
Things are going well. I'm a bit nervous about taking over this area. More than Milford because there are so many more people and more members and just more of everything except it's a smaller area. 

I want to know more about what happened on the subway.  That must have been scary.  When and how did you finally meet up with Sis. Garner? 
So this is a story about how Sister Van Buskirk did not listen to the Spirit. Apparently there is a plan when that is supposed to happen your just supposed to get off at the next stop but I didn't know about the plan so when she jumped on the train I signaled that I would stay and that station. Well she was in so much shock that that didn't register so she waited for me at the next stop. When I didn't get off she sent me a message on Facebook. That is when I got the impression to check my Facebook. But I'm not supposed to look at my tablet unless my companion is right next to me right? Then Sister Garner has the thought that I might call her Because she has the phone and I can ask someone to borrow it right? Well I have that thought as well but then I say, "No Sister Garner will come get me. I have complete faith in her that she understood my signal and she will come get me." Well that was stupid and I should have listened to the spirit like Sister Garner did. The spirit was finally like, "forget you Sister Van Buskirk, Sister Garner go get your companion." And that's the story of how Sister V. B. Is the worst missionary. 

And how are all your 11 investigators. 
Our investigators are good. We have only been able to teach like 1 or 2 so far but my new companion and I will get those people #baptized! 

And are you getting transferred? 
No, Sister Garner is getting transferred. 

How is Maggie doing?  I hope that her friends that aren’t supportive aren’t bothering her anymore.  
Maggie is doing good. She's been out of town this week but we are hopefully seeing her tonight!

And how is the Judge doing?  Has he told his family yet?  Are you going to be able to meet in his home?  
We haven't heard from the Judge but we are teaching him in a couple weeks. Hopefully, he will have talked to his family. 

And what about Tom?  I was cracking up about him saying he can read while he watches sports. I hear stuff like that from your dad - not the reading scriptures and watching but all sorts of other stuff.
Tom is good. He lost his phone and then he had a tennis match on Sunday but we are teaching him on Friday. 

Not a super exciting week but that's okay. This new transfer is going to be full of miracles! I'm excited to meet my new companion and work hard. "[They could not be restrained because of the Spirit of the Lord which was in [them]." That's going to be us this transfer. #expectmiracles! Love you all! Have a great week!

Lots of Love!
Sister Van Buskirk

Our district! Sister Taber made us brownies for district meeting because she loves us. 

I'm convinced this is what I would look like if I was a boy... 

Temple last week!

Making my mom jealous with Honey Wheat Pretzels from Aldi.



Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Water wasn't the only thing raining this week

Oh my goodness gracious what a week. Well I guess it's been a little over a week but I have so much to talk about. 

First. So there's this rule in the White Handbook that says, "Stay Together. Never be alone. It is extremely important that you stay with your companion at all times." That rule applies always except for the time when you and your companion are trying to catch a subway and she jumps on and the doors close right behind her and you are left at the station.... I'm not saying that happened to me but I am saying riding subways is a lot more fun with a companion. 

We had so many miracles this week. We found 11 new investigators in 9 days! That like never happens except in like Argentina (Am I right Elder Crotts?). Hopefully some of these people will progress, a lot of them say they want to be baptized and that is the best thing a missionary wants to hear. 

Anyway I bet you all want to hear about Maggie! We met with her on Monday night and taught her the Restoration and she loved it. We taught her again on Thursday and she absolutely loves the Book of Mormon. She just knows it's true. She kept telling us, "Ladies, I just know this is truth. I just know it." She has been talking to her coworkers about it and she has one friend that is a member that is super supportive. She has another friend that is not so supportive. She is concerned about the whole prophets thing. Maggie told us she said, "Yes they have one person they talk about but he's just a messenger for God. As long as he points to God, he's true." We just sat there grinning from ear to ear. She kept telling us how much peace she feels already from reading. She told us when she first met us she just saw peace and she wanted that peace and now she feels like she has that. She had to go out of town this week but she really wants to come to church on Sunday and we are so excited for the ward to meet her. 

We taught the Judge this week. Our goal was to get him to come to church and to meet with us more often. We found out something interesting though. His family knows he is meeting with us but they think it's out of curiosity. He thinks if he lets us come to his home they will get upset. Our member, Sister Banks was perfect. She told him when she started investigating the church she was up front with her family. He was really surprised and I think that helped him see that he can be straight with his family and that's what he needs to do. We still aren't meeting with him more... BUT he's thinking about having us in his home so that will be good. 

Tom is doing good. We had a few weeks of scaryness. One lesson he almost dropped us but we saved it. We had a really good lesson on the Plan of Salvation and he loved it. He started reading the Book of Mormon! He looked at the pictures at the beginning and it has the page numbers of the stories so he started reading those (he said he can read while he listens to the Philly's game... okay Tom you're crazy but the best.) This weekend was Stake conference and he came to that and really enjoyed it. We are hopeful for Tom. It's going to be slow but he'll get baptized. 

Lila like disappeared for a while but we were able to see her on Monday and hopefully we will see her later today. She's doing good, she's just worried about her daughter. Since she disappeared we had to move her baptism date back but she decided that was a good thing. She said she needs to read the Book of Mormon more. 

Speaking of the Book of Mormon, everyone should be reading it! It's the best book in the world. I know because I've read a lot of books in my day so I can have an opinion. But the Book of Mormon is just chalk full of blessings. Most of them don't come till after we are resurrected but that's okay because this life is about working and serving and trying to become like Jesus Christ right? Usually you work for a couple weeks and then get paid. Just like a job, we work for years and then it all pays off. I don't actually know if that analogy made sense but I don't really care because I'm a missionary so I don't have to be grammatically correct or make sense right now. I love you all so much! Have a fabulous week full of miracles!

Lots of Love!
Sister Van Buskirk

Sister Garner made biscuits and gravy aka she's the best. 
'

 Canadian candy! Love you mom! And fam 

Philly Flavors which is my new favorite place 

 In Philly, women wear these scarf things on their head and it looks so comfy so I tried it out. 
Sister Garner won't let me wear it in public though... 

Monday, August 7, 2017

I'm 69 years old and when I cry, I cry

This was such a fantastic week! Mostly because it ended so great. 

So on Monday the senior couple that serves in the South Philly Branch took us to get cheesesteaks. The Moulders have a really cool mission. They work at the historical society scanning documents for FamilySearch and then they go to the South Philly Branch. They actually live right next to the Temple (which is in our ward) but President Randall asked them to go there. Anyway, they feed us sometimes and they came with us to teach the judge and I just love them. But Pandora's. Best cheesesteak I've had yet. 

Tuesday we had another Skype lesson with Misha and it was SO GOOD! We decided to keep talking about repentance and we read Alma 38 where Alma talks to his perfect son Shiblon. One thing we were really concerned about was Misha's relationship with Christ. We really wanted to emphasize that it is through Christ that repentance is possible. We decided to ask him, "What have you learned about Jesus Christ as you have read from the Book of Mormon?" His response blew us out of the water. He said, "Can I flip the question around? Would you say when you learn in the scriptures you are learning ABOUT the Savior or FROM the Savior?" We were just like.... Then we listened to what the Spirit was saying and Sister Horsley was able to testify how having the Holy Ghost teach us is just as powerful as having Christ there teaching. We are having an in person lesson tomorrow and hopefully we can let the Spirit do a lot of the teaching then. 

Wednesday we had another good lesson with Lila. She's the cutest. Her and Brother Harris are at church by at least 8:30 but then they always leave after Gospel Principles. We aren't sure how to get them to stay but we'll talk to them this week and say, "Hey! What's up! Do you not like us or something?" 

Saturday one of the boys in Primary was getting baptized and the Primary President, Sister Wilson called us a few days before and asked us to play the piano and lead the music. We had to call her back and tell her we would love to lead the music but neither of us can play the piano... Before the baptism she came up to us and jokingly said something like, "What kind of Sister Missionaries are you? You can't even play the piano." Don't quit piano kids! You'll regret it for the rest of your life! Okay maybe mostly just as a missionary. But the baptism was at 1 and we showed up at 12:50 and the font wasn't filled.... All you returned missionaries know it takes a good minute for the font to fill. We started filling it and then we found a giant red bucket to fill and carry over but it still took like an hour to fill the font. It was totally fine though because the kid that was getting baptized and his family didn't show up till like 1:30 anyway. So the baptism starts and Kevin and Brother Winians (who is a pretty recent convert) get in the font and he says the prayer but he didn't like hold his arm and put his hand on his back like a normal baptism. He kinda grabbed his shoulder and his head and tried to shove him under water. Kevin didn't really want to go under like that so it took a few more shoves until he was immersed. Oh the Independence Ward...

But Sunday. So Sunday was Fast Sunday and I now know that miracles come from fasting. We didn't have a lot of lessons set up so we decided to do a lot of finding. For some reason we were really excited about doing 3 hours of finding because usually it's like pulling teeth to get us to do like an hour of finding. But we found an area that we don't go very often but there are a lot of former/potential investigators. We decided that when we stopped by one of them, we would knock like 3-5 doors around them. Not a single person that we tracked was interested but we still had a miracle. 

But first Enrique Santiago. We are walking down the street and this guy sitting on his step starts yelling at us. We walk over and ask him what his name is. "Enrique. E-N-R-I-Q-U-E Santiago Junior." He was a little tipsy and didn't speak English too well. Partly because he was drunk but partly because he is Hispanic. Basically what we got out of the conversation was that he went to jail when he was 8 (We think he might have been talking about Catholic school by what he was saying about it) and he keeps the street clean for him and his neighbors. Also, " Guess how old I am. I'm 69 years old and when I cry, I cry" We were so confused so we asked for his phone number so we could send the Spanish elders to him and so he gave us his phone and all his medical cards because he could remember his number. We gave him a Book of Mormon and his stuff back and then walked away. He was so funny. 

Back in June we received a referral for a man named Jose that lived at 7th and Turner. Well, there is no such thing as 7th and Turner but there is a 5th and Turner but he was not there. So we knocked on this random door and a lady named Maggie (shout out to Magatha)  answered and we asked if we could share a video (Prince of Peace). She said right now wasnt a good time but she asked if we could come back tomorrow. Well we went back the next day and she wasn't home. So every now and again we would stop by and see if she was home but she never was. Finally, yesterday we caught her. We knock on the door and she says, "Hey! Come on in!" Which like never happens. But she remembered us and let us talk to her while she prepared dinner for her husband. She has some family relationships she wants to improve and she knows that she needs to improve her relationship with Christ to be able to do so. She recognizes she needs to change and we are here to help her. Her husband has a crazy schedule but we made an appointment with her and hopefully soon we can start meeting with him. When we prayed at the end she had tears in her eyes. She is amazing. Heavenly Father knew we we had a good attitude and we would continue to knock doors even after the miracle. All we had to do was show up and the Spirit did the rest. 

Lots of Love!
Sister Van Buskirk

This is supposed to be a district picture but half these people aren't even in 
our district and Elder Madsen isn't even in the picture. 

Selfies on the way to the laundromat because we realized we didn't have like any pictures 
to send home. Also, we got stuck at like every red light so we just had to.