Hello hello!
I am a little bit less scatter-brained than last week...so hopefully things will go a little smoother! hahaha Sorry about my crazy email last week! Also, Exactly one year from today I will be on a plane home. Most-likely. Weird.
This week has been amazing! :) We are getting to know the area better, didn't get completely lost at any point, and the sun is shining! :D This week we also said goodbye to President and Sister Burt. They leave on Thursday...and I'm still a bit in denial about that! They have changed my life with their love, example and leadership! This Saturday we were able to go to Richmond for the evening and the ward there threw a huge party for the Burts. It was so sweet! I cried. They will always have a very dear place in my heart!! <3
This past week has been quite the adventure physically! My sweet companion woke up one morning and couldn't feel her left leg! That was quite a nice surprise for us! She told me that she was in a car accident 2 years ago and that afterwards she couldn't feel her leg for a whole month! She just shrugged it off and we went to work! (After calling the nurse of course) As the days have gone by, she has gained feeling in her leg...but that feeling is pain. :( We are working on getting her a doctor's appointment, but in the meantime we are just doing our best! She is such an amazing example to me of perseverance and dedication! Because of this challenge, though, it is taking us a lot longer time to get around. Double and sometimes triple the time. It has been a blessing! It has been hard, but I have been able to finally see that just because we move slower, doesn't mean that the work needs to be moving slower! Heavenly Father is still sending opportunities and miracles our way! One of those miracles came our way yesterday as we were on our journey home from dropping by someone's house.
We were at our bus stop, and checked the time. The bus wasn't coming for 20 minutes and there was nobody in sight to talk to. So, we started walking to the next bus stop. And then the next..and the next! We finally sat down determined to just wait it out, and hoped for somebody to come that we could talk to! Almost as soon as that thought crossed my mind, a man came up and sat down on the bench next to me. I turned to him and asked how his day was going. He opened right up! He told me about his family, his kids, his job, how his dad just died, how he feels about it, everything! I was able to share the whole Restoration with him and give him a Book of Mormon! Unfortunately, he will be moving to White Rock soon...but I was able to get his number right before he got off the bus, and we have been in contact! Miracles!
Another miracle happened this last week that started on the Skytrain. It has really grown my faith in just talking to everybody! Last Saturday, we were on the skytrain, and I got talking to two guys that seemed to be in their late 20's. They weren't too interested in the gospel, but we had a couple more stops to go, and one of them, Caleb, was pretty keen on just talking. So I just kept talking to him about Vancouver and why I'm here and what I do and he told me about places to go see. At the end of the conversation, I felt prompted to ask him if there was anyone that we could pray for. He said he couldn't think of anyone. So, also following a prompting, I gave him our number and said to call or text us if there was anyone. Then we got off! I didn't think about it again, until he actually texted us Monday! He said that he had thought of someone. His friend, Gabe, that was with him! He just didn't want to say anything in front of him! As we texted, Caleb also said that he had questions about our church's beliefs. I invited Caleb to come to a baptism this weekend, and he came! We passed him off to the YSA Elders, and he is now a new investigator of the church, reading the Book of Mormon and soaking it all up! MIRACLES!!!! :D
I am so grateful for the blessing of being here! I talked about it a couple weeks ago, but really the miracles and blessings are ALWAYS all there if we just look for them! God is so good! The church is true, and it WILL change your life! Just open your heart. :) I love you all! Have an amazing week!!!
love,
Sister Van Valkenburg
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