June 25th, 2018 Email :D

See you soon!!

Hello everyone!

I am so sorry that I have been so poor at emailing the last few weeks! Things are crazy up here in the North! We had transfer calls on Saturday, and I am being transferred! I will be serving in the St. George, Utah mission! It's crazy to think that I will be home in just a few short days. I feel as though I just came out into the field! But as I sit and ponder the things the Lord has helped me to learn and experience over the last year and a half of my life....man! A lot has happened and I wouldn't trade any of it for the world! :)

I will write a bit of a testimony at the end here, but first I'll slide in some details about the last week. :) We have truly experienced some miracles! 

The first is the lovely Sam. :) She is from the Philippines and 15 years old. She has only been here with her mom and brother for about 9 months! We started teaching her a few weeks ago, but haven't been able to see her for a week and a bit because of school. We finally saw her this week. We had taught her the Plan of Salvation and given her a Book of Mormon previously and asked her about it. She had prayed about the Plan and felt peace. She recognized it as Heavenly Father telling her it is true! The Book of Mormon, she had a read a little bit of and showed us a passage of King Benjamin she enjoyed. She recognized the paintings and what they meant. She had given her copy to her cousin to read because she wanted to read as well. <3 I love her dearly. She is such a sweet spirit!

This week we also had a big stake-wide event where some visitors came to speak to all women in the stake ages 8 and up about the value of being a Sister in Zion. We had sisters traveling from even Terrace to be here. :) The spirit of unity in the room was so strong and the feeling of love for each other and from Heavenly Father was so clear. I was blessed to play the piano for a two different renditions of As Sisters in Zion. The first time we sang all 10 verses of the poem, the 2nd time was the EFY medley. It was an honor to be a part of! 

I am so grateful to be finishing my mission in the Celestial North! It has been a blessing to be here for 6 months, and I look forward to staying in contact with many friends from here and every area I have served in! (you can find me on Facebook or email me at alissajv97@gmail.com) 

As for my overall mission...

You learn a lot about God's love for His children on your mission. Especially when you are called to such a culturally diverse place as British Colombia! ;) So many different languages, races, cultures, and beliefs surround me...even up here in Prince George! It has been such a blessing to recognize how perfectly He knows and loves the individual, regardless of the details of their lives. He truly is the perfect Father! 

 I know without a doubt that I was meant to serve here in the Canada Vancouver Mission. I know that Heavenly loves all of His children perfectly and knows exactly what they need. A day hasn't gone by that I haven't needed to be here. I know that every person on this earth has a purpose in their life. I know that Heavenly Father guides us exactly where we need to be if we humble ourselves to be led. The meaning of being led has changed for me over my mission. I had blind faith before. Being led meant having a blindfold on and allowing Heavenly Father to guide me by the hand. It has changed now. Being led by Heavenly Father now means to me that my eyes are open. I seek to understand the world around me and where He needs me to go. My arms are outstretched, reaching for Him, and I am still allowing Him to guide me. But I eagerly take the steps ahead. No matter where He may lead me, I keep my focus on Him and I will end up where I need to be. I still don't know the meaning of all things, but I know more than I did. 

I know that through prayer, our loving Heavenly Father speaks to us. He know my thoughts, needs and desires long before I vocalize them, but still wants to hear from little ol me. He loves me. He is always there for me. My mission started with a prayer, and that prayer has continued throughout my mission. My Heavenly Father is my best friend. I know He hears me and keeps me safe. He loves me and guides me. As I heed His counsel, I am able to touch more lives than I can even imagine to be possible. 

I know that because of Heavenly Father's love for us, He has given us prophets on the earth today. I love and sustain President Russell M Nelson. I know that he has the authority to lead and direct he church in these latter days. As I follow him, I am following my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I finished it again this morning, having read it cover to cover with a prayer in my heart to learn something new every day. I was not disappointed. I know that it is true and the best guide to my life that I could have! The words bring me joy, peace and direction in my life. I know that as people seek the truth in the Book of Mormon, they will find it. They will catch a glimpse of the Lord's infinite love for them. They will know that Joseph Smith truly was a prophet of God and called for a few very specific purposes. Oh how I am grateful for the devotion and service of Joseph Smith! The Book of Mormon is full of the messages Heavenly Father needed to tell me. So many days I have had a question and found the answer in the scriptures. I know that opportunity isn't unique to me, but for all. However, I know that the experiences He has blessed me with through the Book of Mormon are very unique for me. 

I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ. He is my rock. Without Him I would not be here, I would not have the joy that I do in my life...heck! I would have no life at all! The Atonement of Jesus Christ never became so real to me until my mission. A day without the Atonement of Jesus Christ is no day at all. It is a night. I know that Jesus Christ is the son of God. I know He lived, died, and lived again for each and every single one of us. No sin is so off the straight and narrow path that He will do EVERYTHING in His power to bring us back. He can and He will. He has done it for me many, many times for which I am eternally grateful. I know that He loves me and each of us individually and perfectly. I am so grateful for the ability to be cleansed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, my Savior.

I know that my family can be together forever. I know it without a shadow of a doubt. My family is mine forever. It motivates me each day to be worthy of the Celestial Kingdom. It motivates me each day to become worthy of my future husband and my future children, to guide them in the ways of truth and light. I know that Heavenly Father wants all of His children to return home to His presence and to be TOGETHER FOREVER. It is possible, and it is worth it to just be our best selves every day.

I am grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost. The light, guidance, and comfort that comes into my life through the power of the Holy Ghost is something that I wouldn't trade for anything in this world. It's something I need every day. The miracles I have been able to participate in throughout my mission are only possible to be fulfilled and recognized through the Holy Ghost. I know that as I seek to be obey the promptings of the Holy Ghost, I will be on the Lord's errand. That will always be my top priority. Only then will I be successful in accomplishing the work He needs me to! 

 I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have served a full time mission in the Canada Vancouver Mission. The call to serve, though extended to all, is one of my greatest treasures and very personal to me. I am so grateful for the knowledge of these things, and the many more that I have to learn. I love my Heavenly Father. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. And say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I love you all! See you soon!!! <3

Sister Van Valkenburg

Happy Aboriginal Day!

My cute comp!

We found the leftover treats after the big event....no regrets!

The District

May 28th, 2018 Email :D

Hello everyone!

I am terribly sorry I literally left like 2 minutes to write this week...but I am so grateful for the opportunities I have had this week to share the gospel! We have seen so many miracles!!

We were at the park and met a sweet lady who is searching for a church for her daughter, we were backing out of a parking stall at the mall and a guy walked up and commented on our Tiwi...and then came to church on Sunday from that conversation! He is a bull rider from Oklahoma, and the Elders are now teaching him. :) So cool! He even came to church with the boots, hat, belt..you name it!

I know that time is so precious. I was privileged to play the prelude music for a funeral this week of a young man that passed away. I am in my last month of my mission...and time is of the essence! We had a training in District meeting where we condensed a transfer into one hour. Each week was just 10 minutes and we needed to find, teach, and baptize God's children! It was so intense! It really put things into perspective! I love serving a mission! I am so truly grateful for the knowledge I have that I am a child of God!! 

I love you all!!

LYBL!! *Live your Best Life*

Sister Van Valkenburg

My plants :) 

Our jar herb gardens :)

Car selfies....photobombed by a tree

our herb jars again

More car selfies

My other plant........

LOOK AT ALL THE COTTON!!!!! ...I promise that is not snow

May 22nd,2018 Email :D

OH my STINKIN goodness!!!! 

Before I even start on my week I would love to give a shoutout to my brother, Jayden! He got his mission call and has been called to serve in the India Bengaluru mission!!! I am so proud of him and know that he is going to be an amazing missionary!! He already is! <3 

As for my week, we have seen so many miracles! We started the crazy transfer week with saying goodbye to friends with Sister Killick, sending her on her way to Victoria YSA (She is killin it!) And picking up my new companion, Sister Buur!! For anyone who remembers my past areas, Sister Buur was one of my STL's and I lived with her in the same basement suite in Langley!!! <3 We have already spent Christmas and New Years together and since she will be going home to Denmark just one transfer after me, we will be spending the ends of our missions together! I love her dearly and can't wait to see what Heavenly Father has in store for us!! 

Last Sunday, Sister Killick and I met some East Indian guys walking down the street and invited them to come play volleyball with us. They readily accepted! Come Wednesday, we had a volleyball game going at the church with 80% nonmembers and about the same percentage all East Indian!! It was awesome!! We were able to play and make friends, and some even came again on Friday to play basketball! It was such a miracle!!

We enjoyed crashing 3 Family Home Evenings this week (by invitation) and contacting in new places! On Thursday we were blessed to find 5 new investigators! 2 of our friends came to church on Sunday!

Yesterday, we went to play beach volleyball with some ward members and their friends and thoroughly enjoyed it! The members we were playing with have a little boy that just turned 1! As we were leaving, we met a sweet single mom with a 1 year old daughter! We were able to testify of how the gospel blesses families and were able to set up an appointment to see her with the ward member for a playdate/lesson on Friday! Super excited!!! 

My testimony has been so strengthened this week as I have acted in faith and prayed diligently for the miracles that I know Heavenly Father can bless us with! They have come every time!

I love this gospel, I love being a missionary, and I love each and every one of you!!

love,

Sister Van Valkenburg

Beautiful lake on the hike Sister Killick and I went on last week!

PG man! Drive by this dude about every day!

Outside a member's home we had dinner with :) Love them!

Selfies with Sister Buur!

May 7,2018 Email :D

Thy Will Be Done

Hello everyone!!!! 

Today will be a bit shorter...so sorry! I am spending more time on individual emails..have a lot on my mind! But this week has been amazing! The weather has been getting nicer every day, and we had the chance to go to MLC again in Vancouver! It is such an amazing experience every time and the Spirit is so incredibly strong!

If you have ever heard the mutual theme song for I believe it was 2017...Thy Will Be Done...you will have heard the song I have sung or played the piano for many musical numbers throughout my mission. It is beautiful. For MLC I was able to accompany a couple Elders who sang it for the musical number. They were asked to sing it 3 times throughout the 8 hour meeting and the whole theme centered around our commitment to Heavenly Father and aligning our will with His. Think about it. Who else knows you perfectly and can help you get to where you need to be? If we want to help a child of God enter the waters of baptism, He will help us because it is HIS will!!! So why don't we ask Him how to do it and just do it His way? It's an amazing thought. We were asked to study the scripture D&C 58:31-33 in preparation. It's amazing. Read it, love it, live it! 

My perspective on life and my goals of accomplishment have gradually shifted throughout my mission. It's amazing to look back and see the meaning behind my goals then, and the meaning behind them now. There is a depth that can only be added by Heavenly Father. I am striving continually to align my will to His. Only then will I be successful in becoming who I need to be!

I love you all! Have an amazing week!!! Happy Mother's Day!

love,

Sister Van Valkenburg

Pictures:
garden update!

Another picture from Elvis's baptism!

April 30,2018 Email :D

I Planted A Garden!!!!!

The title of this email is something that makes me probably a little bit more happy than it probably should...but I am a happy, happy camper because I planted an herb and flower garden last Monday and it is sprouting and I am so proud. 

This week has flown by!!! But it has been good! Keeping it short and simple, we have been using the smartphones a lot and have seen some cool miracles sharing Mormon messages with people on the street and being able to use group chats to coordinate!! So cool! I am so grateful for this tool!!!

We had our first District meeting of the transfer FINALLY on Wednesday, and for part of it, we were each given a physical goal to reach. I said I could do about a minute plank, so I was challenged to make a plan of how to do a 2 min and 15 second plank by May 16th. Likewise, each member of our district was given a physically challenge to complete by May 16th. There is a 5K time, one armed pushup, wall sit, number of pushups and then my plank. Ridiculous, right? But the principle behind it is AMAZING!! It is a concept I have known for a long time, but I realized this week, haven't truly applied. We planned out each day how to work to achieve our goals and put it on a chalkboard in our apartment. Each day my plank time goes up 6 seconds. So far, I am doing good! I've gone from being able to do a minute, to a minute and 24 seconds! It inspired me to plan better for each day of my mission. I have made so many maps, plans, goals, and diagrams for the rest of my mission now! And Heavenly Father is blessing us with miracles! We have been able to hit standards this week because of it, and we are getting happier and more physically fit at the same time!! So good!! :D

A fun story, we were at the Bishop's house this week for dinner, and were asked to scoot our chairs over to add someone to the table. So we did the little hands-on-chair-scoot-while-still-in-the-chair thing. As I scooted to my left, Sister Killick scooted her chair into my chair from the right and the collision got my fingers! Thanks to my trusty ring I wear every day, my fingers didn't get too damaged...but my poor ring went flat!! Bishop Hatch had to go get pliers to get it off my finger, and then did his best to round it out using a piping tip...holy cow! Hahaha it is a memory for the books! But it got me thinking. My ring protected my fingers. Even though I still felt some pressure on my other fingers, I didn't get hit as hard because I had made a choice to put that ring on. That ring is a ring my dad gave me on my 16th birthday to always remember to be pure and loyal to my future husband. It is important to me, and I have worn it every day since on my right ring finger. Because of the decision, I made then, I have been able to make choices consequently to protect myself from the colliding chairs coming my way through life. I have still felt the impact it could make, but I haven't been crushed because the choice I made then, has protected me. In Stake conference yesterday, President Marks told of how he bought a boat for his family. Consequently, he bought a truck to pull the boat. But that decision, he tied back to choosing to have a family in the first place because it is for his family. Every choice we make affects the future. There is no random decision! It is a bit of a jumble of thoughts, but my ring being squished and that thought yesterday clicked something in my brain. It is all tied together. I am more conscious of the decisions I make every day. Because someday, they will protect me. I may not see it coming, and I will still experience some pressure from them, but it will be less because of the choice I make now. Cool, hey?

Another parable for the week, when I started my garden, I started growing some sprouts in a jar as well. They are floated in water, and I am to change the water 2 times a day to prevent gross stuff growing in there and to stimulate their growth. *According to my understanding* This to me is like repentance. EVERY DAY we need to Atonement of Jesus Christ. We need to repent, even if the water seems crystal clear and everything is hunky dory! We won't be able to grow or progress without it. We won't be able to protect ourselves from the things that may invade our lives and cause problems in the future!

If I have learned one thing on my mission thus far, it is that everything ties to the gospel. It has to! God created everything for US!! In Alma 30:44 it says:
"But Alma said unto him: Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of ^aall these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the ^bearth, and ^call things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its ^dmotion, yea, and also all the ^eplanets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator."

Look around this week, and see what connects to the gospel for you! I'm sure you'll find something!! :D

Love you all! Have an amazetastic week!!!

Sister Van Valkenburg

April 23,2018 Email :D

Hello everyone!
 believe it or not but this is typed on my new smartphone!! Crazy!! Golly her a lot has happened in the past week and a bit since I emailed y'all! 

We will start where we left off. Zone pray and Elder David A Bednar! It was so good! Karaoke was a hit, as was the barbecue and playing werewolf as a Zone! 

Friday we were able to Skype in to Vancouver where he met with all the other missionaries in the mission. It was hilarious! We were like the little outsiders looking in from afar! But it was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life! I am so grateful for what I was able to learn by the Spirit!! Elder Bednar didn't give a talk. Right from the get go it was a Q and A format for all the missionaries!! ...minus us of course. It is amazing how when he answered a question of one, it was an answer to many. Funny how the spirit works that way, Hey?:) The questions and the Spirit got to be better quality throughout the meeting. It was amazing! 

The next day, Saturday, we were able to do our little zone pday and then Elder Bednar flew up and met with us!!! The Prince George Zone!!!! Like 18 of us. With him. For 1 hour. I cried. He walked in the room and shook all our hands, skipping all musical numbers and hymns (for which I was relieved because my hands were shaking and I was pianist for all) and he got right down to business. He asked us if we could start off right where we left off Friday with the other missionaries. So we did! We talked about what we learned and asked our questions. It was amazing !! I was able to stand before an Apostle of the Lord and tell him what the spirit taught me. He directly asked me a question and I stood and answered. Amazing. 

Following our special time with him, he taught the stake for 2 hours and we were able to observe. He did the same thing. Q and A. This time, about 80% of the questions he answered were from the children. Like 10 year olds. It was amazing!! Not only were their questions inspired, but the answers. Once again, one question was posed each time, but many were answered. I learned two main things from Elder Bednar. They are tied together and what he asked us in each meeting to learn. 

1. Be an agent, not an object. An agent acts. An object is acted upon. 

2. I do not need to be with a member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles to feel the Spirit that strongly. Each day, each prayer, each meeting can be just as strong of a spiritual experience! 

This last weekend we had zone conference and got our smartphones. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch together before with President and Sister Wong and discussed how we pronounce things. It was hilarious!!! During zone conference President Wong said "synergy. How do you pronounce that Elder Lisney?" "Bananas" says Elder Lisney. So funny!!! I learned a ton!!

One of my favorite parts about zone conference is that we get to drive President and Sister Wong around for their meetings. They took us out to dinner Thursdaynight. At dinner, they showed by example how to contact people and we were able to see so many miracles with the people just eating at the restaurant! They truly are amazing. 

Also, this is probably the most important part of the whole week. Not really. But kind of. I FINALLY SAW A MOOSE!!!!!! We went on exchanges this weekend with Quesnel and as we were on our way out there I saw a MOOSE in the woods...in the woodsen..... it was one of the happiest moments of my life! So cool!!!

Here is a picture of my face right after at the bottom.

Oh it is such an amazing opportunity to be on a mission!! Heavenly Father is so amazing and in the details of the details of our lives!! Love you all!!!

Sister Van Valkenburg

April 13,2018 Email :D

Hello, hello!
This email will be short....I am so excited for Elder Bednar to come! To have one of the Lord's Apostles here...oh I am just super excited!!! At one point he will be meeting with just the missionaries (18 of us) and we are preparing as much as we can for it! 

We have seen so many miracles this week! It has only been a few days, but we have accomplished so much! It is AMAZING to see what Heavenly Father can help you do when you set goals, make plans and act in faith! He is truly amazing!!

Funny story: We were having dinner at a member's house and she had a fancy little whipped cream dispenser that she was using to put the whip on our cake. She put it on Sister Killick's cake...totally fine. Then she cam e over to me. Whipped cream went EVERYWHERE!!! And I mean everywhere. Like the walls, the cake *thank goodness* the floor, the cabinet behind me...and of course the majority went on me! Funnier story: The exact thing happened to me in Langley as well! Even funnier story? Sister Killick made whipped cream just a week ago and managed to cover herself in it as well. Whipped cream. Who'd have thought? XD

I hope you all have a miraculous week!! Share the miracles you see!

love,

Sister Van Valkenburg

April 9,2018 Email :D

Revelation Upon Revelation 

Hello hello!

Wowza! Whenever we have P-day on Tuesday, the next Monday seems to come just so much faster! This next week will especially go by faster because I will be emailing you on Friday...will give you more details later on...:) 

So another reason this week FLEW by was because we had MLC! So off Sister Killick and I went to Vancouver on Thursday, and came back Friday. In the morning while we were packing, I started taking all the proselyting stuff out of my bag, except a few mormon.org cards. We were just going down for a meeting and coming back up anyway! But I felt the impression to pack a Book of Mormon and one of each of the first pamphlets. When we got on the plane, I took my seat next to a nice gentleman named Paul and we started talking! He is amazing!! He has two kids, just a year behind me and my brother with the same age gap. He told me about his family, his job, his religious beliefs, and more! He told me that he had packed a book to read on the flight (1 hour 15 min) but that when he looked in his carry on, he couldn't find it. God works in mysterious ways, hey? :) We talked the entire flight, asking and answering questions, and by the end of the flight he had a copy of the Book of Mormon and the first few pamphlets we give to people. ALL relevant to answer the questions he had asked. Following a prompting, I said I had a challenge for him. He had mentioned that missionaries will come to his street, but had never knocked on his door. I said "The next time that you see missionaries, invite them in and ask them to share a message with you. I promise you that you will receive answers to questions you may not have even asked." He accepted the challenge, and asked if it would be a good idea to feed the missionaries as well! Who does that?!  Of course, I answered with the affirmative! ;) Paul is golden. As we spoke, the Spirit was so strong, and I was waiting for him to say "Gotcha! I'm a member of the 70!" But it never came. What made me worthy of such an amazing experience? What qualified me, a little sister missionary from St. George, the opportunity to sit next to Paul on that flight? I have pondered and prayed about this experience many times since Thursday, and I have summed it up to Heavenly Father's love. He wants ALL of us to feel of His eternal love. He wants ALL of us to experience the Spirit working in our lives. He needed Paul to know that He is there! He needed me to remember the same. And I am so incredibly grateful to be a tool in His hands that day, and forever. :) 

Another amazing experience I am SUPER excited for is this coming weekend! On Friday, Elder Bednar will be in Vancouver meeting all of the missionaries in our mission! It will be an impromptu 3 hour session with one of the Lord's chosen Apostles! Everyone in our entire mission will be there! ....except for my zone. We will be here in Prince George. BUT on Saturday, Elder Bednar is coming to Prince George! He will be in my chapel, in my Relief Society room to meet our stake and members! Us missionaries (18 of us in the Prince George stake) will get to meet him personally! I have been asked to play the piano for the hymns and a special musical number if he asks. I am so honored and excited to meet an Apostle of the Lord!! :D I KNOW that Heavenly Father has chosen and ordained him to serve as an apostolic witness of Him and our Savior Jesus Christ! What an incredible opportunity for us! This is why I will be emailing on Friday instead of next Monday. :)

One of the sweetest people in the universe, Ellen, crocheted me this sweet scripture bag!! I am so excited and so grateful! She's the best!! :D

I hope you all have an amazing week and recognize the miracles that Heavenly Father blesses you with! There are so many!! :D

love,

Sister Van Valkenburg

April 3,2018 Email :D

I Promise I'm Still Alive!
Hello everyone!! Golly gee whiz it has been a while!!  We moved our last P-day because of zone p-day and zone conference..and then we had our P-day moved to today for Easter! Haha! But wow we have had such a wonderful week! Between Easter, General Conference and plenty of time to do missionary work, we had a ton of fun seeking for and teaching Heavenly Father's children! 

First things first, DID YOU JUST LOVE GENERAL CONFERENCE?!? Oh my goodness participating in the Solemn Assembly was such an uplifting, spiritual experience! I am so grateful for our living prophet today who receives SO MUCH inspiration of how to move the Lord's work forward! I mean...one can only drop so many mics in General Conference!! hahaha It is just evidence to me that Heavenly Father is truly hastening His work here! I am so grateful to be out on a MISSION at this time!! :D Here on the front lines, we are able to see so many miracles as we follow the counsel of our leaders!! I know that you can too! 

Transfers have come! Sister Killick and I are staying here together in Fraser, Prince George!! Yay!!! :D We are going to see so many miracles! Not many people in our zone family are changing as well! Woohoo!!

There are a couple analogies I would love to share..but have such short time!! I will type as fast as I can and see what we can share. :) 

The first is a thought from Zone Conference. :) We talked about the Brother of Jared and the barges that he was to build to cross the ocean. Many times we talk about the light and how Christ is the light that keeps us going through the wind and the waves. But this time we talked about how once we are completely in the boat, they literally were at the mercy of the wind and the waves. No ability to see at all. But completely in the hands of the Lord. President Wong asked us if we were the last person to get in, our job would be to push off the barge into the water. Would we stay on the shore and wave goodbye, or would we run and jump in as it floats away, trusting completely in the Lord? I want to run and jump in. I know that He will lead me to the promised land!! Provers 3:5-6 

This last week I went to Triple O's and had my first Triple O's burger. They're a big deal up here in BC. I didn't know what I wanted to order, though, and since the person I was ordering from is a potential investigator, friends with one of our nechako investigators, I asked him to surprise me. Order for me. He brought out a delicious chicken burger that I thoroughly enjoyed, and explained that it was on the secret menu! It got me thinking. Many restaurants have secret menus, but the ingredients they use are no secret to us! They use the same ingredients they use for other menu items, but just in a different order. It's like that with the gospel. We know all the ingredients that will make us happy and help us to learn. But when we go through the Spirit, we can receive revelation especially for us. We receive a different combo specifically for us, we just need to ask!

I am out of time!! I love you all!!! Have an amazing week applying General Conference!!
love,

Sister Van Valkenburg

I didn't fit...so I made it work!!

My mission mom (Sister Thurber whom I love dearly) sent this to me!! SO FUN

March 23,2018 Email :D

Family Feud?

Oh my goodness gracious!! It feels like just yesterday that I was emailing y'all!! ....it was only 3 day ago...so that might be why! This short proselyting week has really built my testimony on urgency. We only had 3 days (today is pday, tomorrow zone conference, and then Sunday) to really work in our areas and find people to teach. 3 days less than we are used to and each moment suddenly became so precious to us to find these children of God! In Prince George, it is hard to find people to teach. Last transfer we found (sadly) 2. In 6 weeks. In the last three days, because of our focus, urgency and faith....we were blessed to find 4 new people to teach!! :D In many ways I am so so grateful for this experience. It really pointed out to me that every moment is so precious and that God will place people in our paths when we are diligently seeking and prepared!! Isn't He so good?!

Today we had our zone p-day for the transfer!! Oh golly gee whiz it was so fun! Another testimony to me of prioritizing time and getting things done was planning it! I spent every spare minute the past week planning this activity with Sister Killick! Every moment was precious!! We started the activity with a huge pancake breakfast with "all the fixin's" and played a couple games of werewolf. (it's an interactive role play game similar to mafia) IT WAS SO FUN to play as a zone!!! Then we got down to business for family feud! We split everyone up into 3 teams (made a cute scrabble board of our names to tell them who was on each team), got name tags, and proceeded to go through a series of competitions representing our teams!! It was a blast! We had a plank challenge, 3 legged race, riddles, balloons, moving M&M's with a straw, most jump ropes in a minute, hellfire sauce, coke chugging, yoyo tricks, getting fruit snacks out of a bowl of flour, an easter egg hunt in the church, egg/spoon race, trust falls, fluffy bunny, juggling, toilet paper mummies, charades/pictionary speed challenge.....man it was so fun!! Everyone was out of breath and smiling! :D Best part? We spent $10 on everything...minus breakfast. Who says you can't have fun on a budget? ;) 

Oh my goodness I just CAN'T WAIT for GENERAL CONFERENCE and EASTER SUNDAY!!! Oh wait!! It's the same day!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! :D :D :D Is anyone else as pumped?! I know that Heavenly Father blesses His Apostles to speak through the Spirit. Any questions you have, whether you know you have them or not, can and will be answered as you prepare yourself spiritually and watch General Conference. :) 

I love you all!! Have an absolutely amazing week and a half! Talk to you in April!! :*

Sister Van Valkenburg

March 20,2018 Email :D

Smartphones?

You read that right!! We were told previously that we were getting smartphones in June...so I was like....solid. That's when I go home. I might miss the smartphone craze!!! BUT we were told that we will all be receiving smartphones in this next transfer. So that will be next month! I will have 2 transfers on my mission with a smartphone!!! Hooray! The days of getting random boxes and unreadable messages from emojis and pictures are soon to be over!! :D

Fun event of the week? We were vacuuming our apartment building for the building manager, and we managed to blow the breakers....so all the lights in the hallways went out...it was super awkward! XD We didn't run into this problem last time we did it...and we did it the same way...so who knows why they went out, but the next hour was spent figuring out how to get all the lights back on! In the process, we found the log of when all the fire alarms went off in the building and firetrucks had to come, etc. We found the log of when one of the Elders was making french toast and set off the whole building!! haha!!

I got to go on exchanges this week in my last area with Sister Muir!! It was hilarious!! Throughout the exchange, we kept forgetting that we had ever been apart, and the poor ward members were so confused!! "You're back?!?!" Hahaha! So funny!! :) We saw so many miracles!! I absolutely love exchanges!!

We celebrated pi day on the 14th = I was a happy, happy camper! (For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, I am referring to pi=3.14 used in math to find the circumference&area of a circle. March 14th is pi day because it is 3/14 = 3/14) We bought a pie for District Meeting and enjoyed pie and pancakes together as a district. Both round. So good! Then we brought a pie to and investigator and her family. :)

Quote of the week was in Relief Society: "Please grant me patience, but please hurry!" referenced by an older lady as we had a discussion on Christlike attributes! XD So funny! I am absolutely loving these counseling sessions we are able to have as a Relief Society!! There are so many experiences and insights that each sister is able to offer! Communication is key for growing!!

During Gospel Principles yesterday, the teacher wasn't there, and we decided to have an open discussion lesson to learn from each other. We chose the topic of sacrifice, and talked about what it means to sacrifice. It was one of the most enlightening lessons of my mission! SO GOOD!!! :D I was able to learn so much from the YSA members around me and from the Spirit! It was brought to my remembrance an experience I had while I was in YSA in St. George. :) The missionaries came to our Gospel Doctrine class and talked of the story of Alma 24 when the Anti-Lehi-Nephi's bury their weapons of war. They encouraged us to write down a weapon of rebellion that we need to bury, we wrote it on a piece of paper, and buried it in the volleyball pit.
What are things that we have been asked to give up? What are our weapons of rebellion that we need to bury? As we talked in Gospel Principles this week, we brought up many temporal things (money, time, food) that we may have to sacrifice during this life to help others or come closer to God. But my mind reflected on what truly might be keeping me from coming closer to my Savior. Are there personality traits, hobbies, or little habits I have that may be keeping me just a bit further from Christ? What little pieces of the world have I allowed to become a part of me that I need to bury? The missionaries that day in YSA gave us each a picture of Jesus Christ with a paper on it that says "Have you buried your weapons of rebellion yet?" I took it with me, and have it hanging above my study desk. It's a good reminder for me each day to bury my weapons of rebellion!! :D

Just a heads up: I will be emailing AGAIN this Friday! Our Pday for next Monday is moved to this Friday because we are having Zone Conference and coming together from the 4 corners of our zone to have a pday together! So I will talk to y'all on Friday, then the next Monday! (April 2)

I love you all!! Thank you so much for being such amazing examples to me!!

love,

Sister Van Valkenburg

We took a bubble tea and bubble waffle break for our dinner the other day!! (Happy 14 months to me!)

Sister Killick got upset and tried to run out of the car...but she forgot that her seatbelt was on...XD

March 12,2018 Email :D

Chicken Hellfire

Hey y'all! :D

This week has been quite the adventure! :) In case you were wondering about the title of this email...we were on exchange this week, and Sister Ferrin came to spend a day with me! As we were trying to figure out dinner, we grabbed some chicken from the fridge and decided to marinate it in BBQ sauce in the oven. Pretty chill. Now here is the thing with missionary apartments. You NEVER know what you are going to find in the cupboard from past missionaries. We had quite the assortment of BBQ sauces to choose from...but here is the one we decided on: Hell Fire. It's hot. How hot? Apparently you have to special order it...it has ghost peppers in it, along with California Reapers.... 

​So, being the crazy sisters we are...we dumped half the bottle on our poor chicken, put it in the oven, threw it together with some rice, and packed it away to the church with some ranch! SO GRATEFUL I remembered the ranch! We sat together in the YW room waiting for people to show up for basketball and just about died!! Hahaha such a sweet memory!

Another fun food thing: I discovered, thanks to Sister Killick, the best hot chocolate ever! You either make vanilla bean hot chocolate or normal, add in a peppermint tea pack, throw in some vanilla ice cream, and you're good to go!! :D SO GOOD!!!

We had ward conference yesterday, and President Ryan had some words of wisdom to share. He talked about the new Star Wars movie, and how excited he was to see it with his family! He sat there and at a point in the movie, was distracted by the sound of people around him eating popcorn and rattling their candy wrappers. It caused him to be so irritated for "7 minutes" that he lost complete focus of the movie and missed what he had waited so anxiously to experience! He related it to our life on earth and when we allow things to distract us from the happiness we are here to experience! :D Wow! So good!

I have so much more to share...but have so little time! Just know that I love all of you and love being a missionary! There truly is no better calling!!! 

love,

Sister Van Valkenburg

​We went to a member's house this week that used to be a pro arm wrestler! SO COOL!! SO MANY MEDALS!!! (Kaylea, one of the best people ever is in the pic with Sister Killick.)

March 3,2018 Email :D

Vancouver, Eh?

Hi Y'all! 

This week is going to be super short, I am so sorry!

But this week was crazy and amazing! So super super busy and it has been a blast! The best part of the week (one of the best parts) was going to Vancouver for MLC!! Oh my goodness I love flying and I love Vancouver and I love missionary meetings!! :D It was so fun being around my old stomping grounds! As we had a few hours for contacting while we were there, Sister Killick and I rushed to a SkyTrain station and zipped down to see the Mims! Oh it was so good to see them! I love them dearly!! <3 We were able to call a couple other old friends to say hello and it was so good to reconnect! Vancouver will always hold a special place in my heart! <3

At MLC, we were trained on a lot of things, but one of my favorites by far was a video we watched about an Emu. (which I thought was an ostrich for the entirety of the video and for a few minutes after...but that's fine. If somebody could look up the difference between the two and email me, it would be muchly appreciated) During the video of the emu, it goes to a picnic table and seeks to get some human munchies...and somehow gets some Virtual Reality goggles strapped to its face!! OH MY GOODNESS!! As it watches through the goggles, it sees the sky and envisions itself flying. It flaps its wings and runs around the other emus, in its sleep it is practicing to fly, in the morning again, it tries and fails to fly. The other emus think its crazy. Finally, one day, it actually takes off and flies off into the sunset as the other emus watch. Of course, we know that emus can't fly. BUT. That is the point! How many limits do we put on ourselves when we know that through God we can accomplish the impossible?! When the emu finally took off, finally flew into the sky, it did not have the VR goggles on. It had a clear vision already of where it wanted to be and how it was going to get there! I am personally applying this to my life by striving to have a vision of what Heavenly Father can help me to become and aiming for the sky! I will be the first emu to fly out here in the Canada Vancouver mission! Watch me! 

Also, still going strong with the music! I had the change to sing in a quartet "Because He Lives" 2 times at MLC. The spirit was so strong! I was also able to put together a small number of "Savior, Redeemer of my Soul" sung by 5 missionaries as I accompanied for a fireside last night. We had an amazing turnout with 3 potential investigators there and a few recent converts and less active members. God is so good!! :D

I love you all and encourage you to find an emu plan! How can you get into the sky?!

Sister Van Valkenburg

On splits with Sister Flukiger and Jensen in Vancouver! We took a selfie in a really fancy washroom

WE FOUND A MOOSE IN VANCOUVER AIRPORT!!!!

We were SO TIRED after our trip to Vancouver! Here is Sister Killick in the airport as we waited to be picked up and taken home.XD
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February 26,2018 Email :D

Chicken Scream

Oh my goodness everyone!! This week has been so crazy!! 

It started out with me saying goodbye to all my dear friends in the Nechako Ward. It was interesting doing so because I literally was just moving to the other ward in the building...so it's like...I would still see them. :) We had a fun dinner at Bishop Krell's house! He lives up in the boonies and we drove out for some ham he had raised himself! Delicious! During the meeting, he pulled out an iPad and insisted that we play a game called "Chicken Scream." Have y'all heard of that? You cluck like a chicken to move this little chicken through obstacles. If anyone walked into their house at that moment, they would see a very confused Sister Missionary clucking her heart out at an iPad! XD Goodness gracious! 

Right after that dinner, we hustled down to the church building to a Relief Society activity on the 5 languages of love. Once again, I was put on the spot to stand in front of everyone and have people guess what my love languages were! Hahaha! So that was fun. It was a cute activity with a wonderful turn out, and we had some investigators come! Woohoo!! :D

Also this week, we had a Filipino culture night with the two wards combined. We had many nonmembers and less active members come, and enjoyed an evening of food, culture, music and dance! It was a huge hit! So stinking fun! 

This week I had a really cool experience that helped me to truly reflect on how the Lord answers prayers. For my Book of Mormon focus this time through, I have made it a goal to study in depth for a straight 30 minutes each day, with an objective to receive revelation for myself and for others each time. To liken the scriptures. The other morning as I prayed to start, I knew I was going to be studying Jacob 5. I prayed that Heavenly Father would help me to see a way that I could strengthen our zone here in Prince George and opened my scriptures. As I read the words of Isaiah, everything was crystal clear of ways I can cultivate this area, the way that the Lord was working with individual companionships, and how we can have a clear vision for the future of this area. I was floored! Heavenly Father truly is a God of miracles and will speak directly to us! We just need to ask, and then seek!

Also this week, Sister Killick and I had an amazing miracle! Within 30 minutes we were able to set two baptismal dates! We did so by simply following the plans we were inspired to write down in our planners and the lessons we were prompted to teach! Most importantly, we just weren't shy about bringing up the word "baptism." It is a gift from God to come closer to Him and find greater happiness in life! Who doesn't want that?! And why was I so nervous before to offer this gift to others? It was such a miracle that I will never forget!

I love you all! I am so graetful for all that Heavenly Father has given me and will strive each day to cultivate the area of the vineyard He has called me to serve in!

Sister Van Valkenburg

Doing the CPR (church, pray, ready) cup activity! I love this object lesson! When we use our three knives (prayer, scripture study, church attendance) intertwined together...we can support a lot of weight! :D

​We accidentally left he window open over night...oops!

inside my desk from Nechako. Missionaries sign it when they leave<3

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"The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives." - President Russel M Nelson