Wait, you're a vegan?!

What a week! Birthdays, baptisms, and exchanges! It was a crazy week here in Independence South. 

Monday, to celebrate my birthday we went to the Free Library of Philadelphia. It was like the best thing that has ever happened. They have a rare book exhibit and so there were little plaques about the different books and things. We felt so cultured when we left. It was great. I'm so excited to come back and be able to actually read the books! 

Sister Neuffer told our district leader it was my birthday so he made everyone sing. So that was uncomfortable... We had dinner with some members and since Sister Neuffer is the greatest, she made sure they knew it was my birthday. They had a cake and everything. The great thing is Sister Southwick is vegan... So the cake and ice cream was vegan... Thanks everyone for the sweet birthday messages! Love you all! 

Wednesday I was on exchanges with Sister Peterson and we did lots of tracting. I forgot how hard tracting is... I'm so grateful for the fact that we can literally walk outside and there are people to talk to. We don't have to go hunt them down. 

Friday I went on exchanges with Sister Williams and Sister Gassaway. They are in a trio so I was blessed with 2 companions for the day! We were able to teach a lady, Zuley, the restoration and the spirit was so strong as we testified of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. We found out her cousin is actually a member and she's been to church with him a couple times so she's excited to join them at church! Sister Williams and Sister Gassaway are the best missionaries! I am so blessed to be able to learn from them. 

Saturday was the east elders baptism and then the Halloween party. Us missionaries decided to switch nametags as our costume. Since we don't have a parking lot we decorated some doors and the kids came around trick or treating that way. This ward does really creative family costumes. We were very impressed. 

We had a really amazing lesson in Gospel Principles yesterday. Brother Garrett, our ward mission leader, taught about eternal marriage and eternal families. I know what you all are thinking, "wow Sister Van Buskirk. You must be trunky if you thought the lesson on eternal families was amazing." Well, you are all wrong. As Brother Garrett testified about eternal families, the spirit was so strong. Then our investigator Tom said, “you are speaking with such sincerity. This thing that you are talking about, I want that.” The spirit hit me so hard, I got emotional. I want him to have that. I want him to be with his family forever. We spent the rest of the class listening to testimonies of those that have been able to go to the temple. I dont think there was a dry eye in the class. Brother Garrett then invited everyone to prepare to go to the temple. 

I know that families can forever through the blessings of the temple. The temple is the greatest place on this earth. It is the place I feel the closest to Heavenly Father. I would invite all of you to prepare yourself to go to the temple. I love you all so much and hope you have a great week! 

Lots of Love!
Sister Van Buskirk

 Sister Peterson is the coolest!

Thanks mom!

 I have this weird habit of wearing clothes after I open them as gifts. The sweater is from Casey. The shirt is from Sister Neuffer. The pants are from Ross. 

The view from the top of the Rocky steps where we go running every morning. 

Yesterday was a bit wet but we kept smiling!

The Independence Ward missionaries! (If you look closely there are 2 Sister Van Buskirks and 2 Sister Neuffers)

Thanks mom...

The Wilsons!!! 

The vegan cake...

Sister Neuffer made me crepes and got us matching shirts. (You could say my birthday was crepe ;) )

Hogwarts. I mean the Free Library. 

 Philly in the Phall. (Notice the trash) 

A whole lot of nothin

I have no idea what to write about this week so if it sounds scrambled, I'm sorry. 

Tuesday we met with our investigator, Cherie who has been meeting with missionaries on and off for a few years. She had been reading the Book of Mormon which was amazing because that is something she hasn't been the greatest at. She read 1 Nephi 3 so we talked about keeping the commandments and how sometimes it's hard to keep the commandments or follow God's will but there will always be a way. For example: Last week Sister Neuffer and I had to make plans for this week to go on exchanges with some of the other sisters in the zone. We felt that both sets of sisters would bennifit from going on exchanges this week but we also knew we wouldn't have the car which isn't a big deal because we can just take the bus. We prayed about it and felt really good about it so we went for it. Over the next couple days, meetings and other appointments kept popping up that would make it extremely hard for us to do everything without a car. We were confused. Didn't Heavenly Father tell us to plan our exchanges then? Why then are these other just as important meetings popping up? We decided to continue to follow the prompting we had received. Today, some of the meetings have rescheduled and now everthing has worked out because it always does according to Heavenly Father's plan. 

A few weeks ago Sister Neuffer and I had the prompting to knock this little group of houses near one of our investigator's apartment. One of the last doors we knocked on, a woman answered. We asked if we could share a video but they just had a death in the family. She did say we could come back another time. A few weeks later we felt that we should stop by again. A man named Gene answered the door and said it was a bad time but that we could come back on Saturday. We came back Saturday and shared the video and he really enjoyed it. We were able to have a lesson this week and we have another one next week. To be completely honest, after we walked away after we knocked those houses, I was discouraged. I was confused why we had both been prompted to knock there but there was no immediate miracle. I feel that often, when we receive and prompting and we follow it immediately, we want immediate results. That doesn't always happen. Sometimes, your investigator has an amazing experience at church and the spirit tells you to set them with a baptismal date and you expect everything to go according to plan because the spirit told you so right? It all goes back to trusting the Lord. That investigator might drop that date but it doesn't mean they dropped you. They know that at one point they were able to have a baptismal date. If they could do it once, they can do it again. If we can keep the commandments, we can do it again and maybe that's when the blessings will come. It's not a one and done thing. It's repetition. Don't be afraid of repetition. 

None of this email really makes sense. But what does make sense it the Book of Mormon. If you say a prayer before you start, it will all make sense. This morning I was reading Jacob 5 which is a hard chapter because it is an allegory and it talks about vineyards and grafting trees which is something I don't really understand. But I started with a prayer and I was able to pull something out. There is a part that talks about the Lord of the vineyard talking to his right hand man. Basically he tells his right hand man to call more servants to labor diligently in the vineyard. We (us missionaries) are the servants called to labor diligently in the vineyard. We can all learn new things from the Book of Mormon. Even if it is just a small insight like the one I received. 

Sorry for this lame email. I promise Sister Neuffer and I did stuff this week. 

Lots of Love!
Sister Van Buskirk

We find random things in Philly. 

More randomness. If you don't want your lantern stolen just attach a bike lock! 

 Sometimes I like climbing the walls. 

A sneak peak into missionary life.

Fall on Kelly drive. 

         These last to pictures were not taken in our area. They were taken in the elder's area. It's prettier where they live. 

How many times can Sis. Neuff and Sis. VBK break the rules in one day?

So Sunday was an interesting day. You would think that on the Sabbath as a missionary we would aviod breaking rules. But no such luck. 

Let's start back on Wednesday. So I'm sure you all remember Lila. She is still preparing for baptism. There just have been some set backs so we are planning for November 3rd! On Wednesday we had a lesson with her and she really opened up for some reason (she's normally pretty shy). She told us she has been getting discouraged because her date keeps getting pushed back for one reason or another. But she still really wants to be baptized! We went back on Friday and she was SO happy to see us  she had been reading from the Book of Mormon and praying and basically just having an amazing experience with feeling the Spirit. She was just so excited to come to church and stay for all three hours (that's something she's been struggling with, staying all three hours). Well we get to church and Brother Harris and Lila were not there. They usually are there before so we were a bit concerned. We decided after the sacrament was passed if they weren't there we would go get them. Well, they still weren't there so we dipped out of sacrament meeting. We ran and grabbed our car and drove over to their house. We planned to ride the bus with them to church because we aren't allowed to give people rides. I guess we followed one rule yesterday. They ended up not being home so we were a bit concerned because they are old so it's not like they went and did an activity on a Sunday morning like younger people do. We race back to church and slip in the back just before the closing hymn. Two minutes after we sit down, in walks Brother Harris and Lila. The power went out in their house in the middle of the night so all their clocks were wrong so they were late to church but they made it! And Lila stayed for Relief Society and loved it! 

We went to a member's house for dinner yesterday and while we were there our district leader called us like 3 times. So we excused ourselves and called him back. There was a kid in the hospital and they wanted us to meet them down there. Well this hospital is not only out of our area or out of our ward boundaries, it's out of our zone. (If you are confused by the term zone, please ask a returned missionary. Also, read the Book of Mormon. It has nothing to do with zones, it's just a good book.) Well we ran over there, mostly just to be support for the family while the elders gave the kid a blessing. Bonus to this disobedience: we are supposed to be in our apatment by 9 every night but we didn't leave the hospital till 9:15. We are all good though! 

That's basically the most interesting part of our week. Remember kids and adults and anyone around the age of my dad because I'm not sure if he's a kid or an adult sometimes: Be obedient to the commandments Heavenly Father gives you. Unless he commands you to disobey the commandment, see 1 Nephi 4 for more information. I know the Book of Mormon is true. I know it is another testament of Jesus Christ. A testimony is a spiritual witness and assurance given but the Holy Ghost. Let us all follow the example of Lila and really study the scriptures and pray about them. It will change our whole countenance as it did for her. Use the Book of Mormon as a way to help you through trials and use the Book of Mormon to help you in the good times. Find joy in reading the Book of Mormon. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week.

Lots of Love!
Sister Van Buskirk

Car selfies are still the best

Okay maybe not?

                                                                       Sister Neuffer is obsessed with me

new phone, who dis?

A lot of changes came to the PPM this week. First we got Area Book 2.0 which is... challenging... We were talking to one of the assistants and he asked us if we liked it and then he said, "I have no motivation to plan now. I know it's bad to say, but it's better to be honest and repent later." That's all I'm going to say about that. The second change is that we now have smartphones... For this transfer every companionship has one smartphone between them but next transfer when all the new missionaries come in, they will come out with their own phone. So instead of tablets, missionaries will now just be using smartphones. This is going to be crazy but it's awesome that we are able to use this new technology to further the work. 

We met this really amazing less active couple this week in the new part of our area. Basically their story is: One day Sister Johnson was praying for a new church to go to and then 5 minutes later the missionaries knocked on their door. They had just been praying on where to go and were led to the Johnson home. They were active for a few years but when the ward split they kind of drifted off to a different church. They are the nicest people I've ever met. We are going to try and bring the spirit back into their home and help them have that goal to go to the temple because that is what is most important. 

As a missionary in the city you receive a lot of referrals. Either media referrals (someone ordered something from the Church like a Bible or Book of Mormon) or other missionaries in another area met someone that actually lives in your area that's interested. If you are a good missionary you not only contact the referral but you try other people in the area because Heavenly Father may have sent you that referral because someone else is ready to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am not the best about remembering to do that but that's okay because I know Heavenly Father still loves me. This is how I know: 

We had a referral from the Gladys Knight devotional and it was a member, Sister Smith, that invited her. We asked Sister Smith to come with us to give JoAnn her package. Their other neighbor, Mary, was also there. JoAnn wasn't really interested in hearing our message so we asked Mary if she would be interested in hearing about the Book of Mormon. She said, "Yes!" Heavenly Father knew I would forget to talk to other people in the area after we contacted JoAnn so He made sure Mary was there while we were talking to JoAnn to remind us to be better missionaries. 

I hope you all remember how much Heavenly Father loves you. He has a lot of blessings that He is just waiting to give you. As we are obedient, we receive those blessings. Sometimes they take a while or they aren't really anything except for a change of attitude. A few days ago Sister Neuffer and I were having a rough day. All our lessons had cancelled that morning and we were going to do service for a lady but right before we left she cancelled as well. So basically it was turning out to be a terrible day and we were having a terrible attitude. I was finally like okay we just need to pray. So we knelt down and Sister Neuffer said a prayer and then we got up and got to work. Nothing miraculous happened. We didnt find 5 new investigators that night. Actually the rest of our lessons that night cancelled as well. But Heavenly Father helped our attitude change. It was amazing to see that. 

Here are a few quotes of the week: 

"Awkwardness can be good and instructive." - Sister Randall 

"Elder Brown, what's Sister Neuffer's spirit animal?" 

"A Mama Gorilla"

"Ayyy Séniora! I like it! I like it! I love it!" - Random Mexican Man 

"Brother and Sister Stokes used to be *good friends*. Now they're Brother and Sister Stokes!" 

Lots of Love!

Sister Van Buskirk

We bought these

Sometimes we weekly plan in the courtyard of the Church

Just so we can see the temple

Federal Donuts!

If you cut your companions hair...

...She probably trusts you way too much. So Sister Neuffer and I decided we wanted a hair cut so we gave each other one. There's an elder in the ward who cuts the other elder's hair so we asked if we could borrow his scissors. I would have to say I did a pretty good job for never trying it before. It's a little shorter than what Sister Neuffer wanted but the promise in Alma 41:21 is real. More good news- We are both staying in Independence! I am so excited for another transfer with Sister Neuffer and to spend more time serving this ward. They are incredible. 

The other day I was on the bus and this girl got on and I was like, "wow she looks so nice, I would be friends with her." Then the spirit was like, "then you should share the gospel with her." I was like, "dang it, you're right." So I gave her a Book of Mormon download card and we talked for a bit. She told me about her family and how she stopped going to church because she has a lot of questions and you can't ask questions at church. I was like, "Girlfriend! We love questions! Come to church and get baptized!" Okay I didn't say that but I definitely thought it. The dumb thing about bus rides is we have to get off and that means ending the conversation. But that really taught me that sharing the gospel with our friends is the most important thing we need to do. But it also showed me that everyone should hear the gospel message and consequently, everyone is my neighbor. 

Awkward story of the week: We were helping a family move out of one apartment into another Saturday morning and since this ward is fantastic, there were a lot of members there and both sets of elders. Let me set the stage for you all. Most of the members and all the elders were outside around the truck. Sister Neuffer was carrying a fan and a lamp. I was drinking water out of a water bottle. The door of the building was wide open but on one side of the door frame is a glass window that is very clean and the same height as the door. We were both inside the apartment building. I am walking a little behind Sister Neuffer and I am looking at a painting and thinking to myself, "what kind of painting is this, who would paint this and why?" You know, the type of questions you ask yourself while looking at modern art. Anyway, back to the story. While Sister Neuffer makes it safely out the door, I do not. I run smack into the door frame/window and my water bottle flies out of my hand and I look up and all the members and the elders are looking at me. So naturally I run back inside the building to avoid more embarrassment while my lovely companion almost drops the fan and lamp, she's laughing so hard. Let's just say that window wasn't as clean anymore. 

We taught the Judge today! That was so fun. A few days ago we invited him to watch General Conference and he tuned into the Sunday Morning Session. He is such a funny guy. He is so stuck on faith, he doesnt think he has any but we are like, "Judge! You have so much faith!" We read Moroni 10:17 and talked about if he wants faith, he can have it. He also asked us about how we view marriage and families so we are going to email him The Family: A Proclamation to the World (plus Elder Oaks told us to read it). He also asked about church and he says he wants to come soon but hos October is too busy. 

We had an amazing lesson with our new investigator, Yolanda. She came to the Gladys Knight devotional and loved it. She has so many questions and is really excited to read the Book of Mormon. She came to the Sunday Afternoon Session of General Conference and really enjoyed it. She is so awesome and we are excited to keep teaching her. 

Speaking of conference, wasn't it amazing?! I really loved Elder Bednar's talk about being distracted. That happens to me so much. I like what he said that sometimes we are running so fast we forget where we are going or why we are running. But I also loved what he said about change. Sometimes I feel that if I change one thing, my nature will change automatically right? Not necessarily. Change comes grace by grace. As we come unto Christ little by little, He can change us little by little. You're life shouldn't be whiplash kind of roller coaster with ups and downs every other second. It should be a steady incline towards our Savior. That is how we find peace and joy in the gospel. Slowly, steadily, consistently coming to Christ. I love all of you so much! Have a great week and remember to put Jesus Christ first!

Lots of Love!
Sister Van Buskirk

The District. All Sister Neuffer and I wanted was a normal picture. 

I love Philly

Exchanges with Sister Nielson! 

Love these hooligans! 

Sister Neuffer loves the temple. Okay maybe I do too. 

The elders judge us when we take selfies before district meeting but who cares because we are the cutest.