June 5,2017 Email :D

I love all of God's creations, and I believe there is a purpose for everything, but ....mosquitoes?! REALLY!?!?! Sometimes I really wonder about the idea of putting mosquitoes on the earth...but hey, I'm sure there is a valid reason! They're HUGE here! Like I thought they were pesky in Utah but here....no bueno! With the lake rising and the flooding lately, it has been a lot more humid here than usual and the mosquitoes are everywhere! It's quite the blessing when somebody lets us in the door, for more reasons than to teach the gospel! Hahaha we are itching, slapping, and waving as we talk to people on doorsteps! We must look a sight! Hahaha...we also have had a lot more spiders try to move in with us this week. I believe we found 4 this morning. Joyous! Hahaha really though, it is such a grand adventure and it just keeps things interesting, right?! XD

This week I was able to finish the Book of Mormon along with the rest of my mission. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to start with everyone, as they started it in January and I got here at the beginning of February, but it was still such an amazing experience to be able to close the last page, get on my knees, and ask Heavenly Father once again if the Book of Mormon is true. I can testify that it is true, that it is without a doubt the word of God, and that it contains the answers, guidance, and revelation that we all seek in our lives. We just need to open the pages and read! :) As a mission, we started reading the Book of Mormon again on June 1st. We will finish on December 25th, as a gift to our Savior. I am so excited and so grateful for the opportunity that I have to read it again! I know that through my obedience to the promptings I receive from reading the Book of Mormon, I will be able to see miracles!! :D

Remember Bella and Roger from last week? Well.....they're on date to be baptized on July 8th! They are so good! We have taught them about 3 times this last week and plan on keeping that pattern going! I just love them so much and it is always such a treat to be able to go to their house and share another message of the restored gospel! When we saw them on Saturday, they had already read the pamphlet we were going to be teaching out of (We left it with them so they could come up with questions for our lesson and know what to expect) Roger commented really thoughtfully that he had read the pamphlet and loved what it said about repentance. He said that he struggles with low self esteem and he learned that repentance can help him with that. That was such a deep and thought out connection!! I was so happy! I just love watching him and Bella grow as they not only hear our message, but internalize it and apply it to their lives! I know that's what I need to be doing in church and my studies and everything that I do! I learn so much as I teach! Isn't that just so cool?! Mission man, they're so amazing! :D

We had kind of a funny phone call with one of our favorite less-actives in the ward. Her name is Hazel. She has a birthday this week, and had invited us over for dinner to celebrate. She called us the morning of to cancel. She said that she had been sick in the hospital all night!! We asked why she had been in the hospital, and she said she had made some hamburger patties for herself the night before and ate them...and they didn't sit well with her. Sister Miller commented "Aw man! They must have been some bad hamburger patties" and Hazel says "Oh no! They were DELICIOUS!!!" XD We just died laughing! I guess you had to hear her enthusiasm as she said it...but oh boy that was a funny phone call! XD

Lately we have been meeting with all of the auxiliaries in the ward and compiling lists from them for members and less-actives that need visits from us and such. It really has been so inspiring! We were able to drop by the house of a Sister Cooper whom the Relief Society President said is just lonely. When we came, she sat down with us and just poured her heart out. Because of recent experiences in her life, one of them happening just a few days before we came, she believes she has lost her testimony and spirit. She just cried as she told us that she is giving up. She stopped going to church, praying, and one of the things she loves, singing. We were able to bear testimony of her ability to keep growing her testimony and to have the relationship with Heavenly Father that she desires. We were able to sing a hymn with her, and she just cried and cried. :) She said that she did indeed feel the spirit. I know that we were sent to her by inspiration through a loving Relief Society President. I am so grateful for the experience I had to be able to be a tool in the Lord's hands in her life to lift her that day! It lifted me. :) 

I have a lot of pictures coming your way this week...got a little camera happy...so I apologize in advance! But I just want everyone to know that I love this gospel! I love being able to bring it into the lives of all those around me here in West Kelowna, and I know that Heavenly Father loves each of us individually! He knows us!!! Have such an amazing week!!!

love,

Sister Van Valkenburg

Just love the sunsets here! (Sister Miller took this picture, no worries!)

We found this gem in the hallway of Sister Cooper's apartment complex. Yes, this is a taxidermy dog. Yes, Sister Miller tried to pet it to see if it's real. It's real. Real taxidermy. XP

We had a wonderful walking day and while we were walking home (an entire hour uphill. It was wonderful! Apparently I was saying "Ow" in my sleep that night whenever I moved! Hahah) we saw a couple deer in the vineyards! So cool!

This is Hazel. We love her! She came to church for the second week in a row this week!

May 29,2017 Email :D

I know I said the sun came out last week...but holy cow did it come out this week!! I have a watch tan line! I never get those! :O ...mainly because I have never worn a watch....but it still makes me giggle! The first couple of days I forgot to wear sunscreen...hence the title of this email...but I'm doing good and everything is tanned up again. :) 

One of the biggest struggles the past couple weeks has been WATER. We are on boil water notice, and have been for the past 3 weeks. The water here is contaminated, so until further notice we are having to boil our drinking water before we drink it, or buy bottled water. It's like camping! So fun!

We started the week with a wonderful combined Zone Conference. :) It was really emotional, because it was our last Zone Conference with President and Sister Burt...but it was so good! We had so many good role plays and trainings...I took pages and pages of notes! I was asked to lead the music, and for the closing song of the whole conference we stood and sang "Called to Serve." I looked around as we sang and everyone was just crying...the spirit was just so strong! It was a really cool experience. :) After the conference, President Burt took the time to have a 2 minute final interview with each of us. I am just so grateful for him and his love and service he has dedicated to each and every one of us during his time here. :) Of course, he isn't leaving for another month...but man! Saying goodbye this week was tough! I will forever be grateful for him and the things I have learned from him and Sister Burt. :) 

This week was full of miracles, too! They're all there if you just look for them! That's something that I've really been learning and trying to apply. You can go through the day noticing and looking for the little miracles or you can go through the day waiting for a big miracle to happen. Rarely will I find myself having a good day if I'm just doing the latter. :) 

We were able to find 5 new investigators this week! (That's big in this area. We have had many weeks without any) Two of them are husband and wife, and the other group is a mom and her two kids. :) They are all just awesome! Bella and Roger, the couple, have sooooo many questions which is soooooo good! As we taught them the Plan of Salvation, we were peppered with questions about our religion (polygamy, blood transfusions, heaven vs hell, you name it) and somehow, with the help of the Spirit, we were able to tie EVERYTHING into the Plan of Salvation while teaching simple doctrine. The Spirit was so strong! Bella and Roger were so good, too! They weren't arguing, just answering questions, and they were just highlighting the pamphelt and...man! I loved it! The mom and her two girls were so good too! We were able to teach them the Restoration and the spirit was so strong in their lesson! Cindy, the mom, was just crying as she felt the Spirit. :) We were able to help her recognize that what she was feeling was the Spirit, and....man I can't type my thoughts really well today....but it was just so good! Just know that! :D

I had the opportunity yesterday to go to my first baptism on my mission. A man named Carlos was baptized. Because he only speaks Spanish, the entire service was in Spanish! It was such a remarkable experience...I haven't taken much Spanish in my life, but somehow I was able to understand the majority of what was said at the baptism. :) The Spirit was so strong, and many of the ward members commented after that they had never felt the Spirit so strong at a baptism. :) It was a beautiful experience to be a part of. 

I just love this gospel and love being a missionary! Have an amazing week!!

love,

Sister Van Valkenuburg

Sorry for the crooked angle...but I'm still obsessed with the clouds. :D

We met this friendly dog at a lady's house as we were knocking doors. He LOVED this rock. Just sat there with it in his mouth the whole time we talked to the lady. XD She wasn't interested in learning more about the Restored Gospel...but hey, I got a picture of her dog!

I mentioned last week that we helped sandbag at a bible camp. Well, this is a picture taken from a park. All of the parks here are closing because the lake water has gotten so high, there is no beach! The snow is melting from the mountains, and the lake just keeps rising! People down by the lake are on evacuation notice if they haven't already been evacuated, and we are expecting the lake to go up 6 more inches and keep rising until July! There have been a lot of service opportunities, to say the least! In this picture, there is a little hut looking thing in the lake. That's actually a dock that has been submerged in the water! Crazy!

May 22, 2017 Email :D

Wow! This week has been a beautiful week! The sun has been shining, we have seen so many miracles, and I have just been able to see myself grow sooo much as an individual and as a missionary! I love these weeks! :) 

Saturday morning, we got a text from a sister in the ward saying that a bible camp near us that her brother works at was in danger of flooding and they had sent out a call for help to fill and place sand bags. We were over there as soon as we could! (With name tags on of course ;) ) We were able to spend a good chunk of time helping people fill sandbags to be placed along the shore of the lake on the camp. They cover a lot of land, and since they are right next to the water's edge, and there has been a lot of rain and the snow in the mountains is starting to melt...they are in real danger of flooding! One of my favorite parts of the whole experience was standing in line, shoulder to shoulder, with members of different Christian churches from around the area and passing filled bags down the line to be packed in place. We were unified. It is a place that I didn't think that I could feel the Spirit so strong...but wowza! It was there! So many people, noticing our name tags, were instantly like "Wow! Thank you so much for coming to help!" So many good conversations were able to be had, so many opportunities to love and serve as we served each other. I am so grateful for that experience!

We were having a member finding meeting with a family in our ward the other day, and we shared a message on charity. As we were talking, a comment was made by a sister that sometimes it is hard for her to put herself in other people's shoes and have charity for them. A thought came to my mind...one of those things you already know, but it hits you in that moment....that Jesus Christ has already walked in all of our shoes. Not only does that apply to each of us in our given circumstances, but it applies to when we are trying to help others. Sometimes I forget that He knows my friends individually as well. When we are trying to know how to walk in somebody else's shoes, we can ask the one who has already done it for us. :) I love my Savior! 

We had a miracle happen this last week that starts a few weeks ago...so rewinding...story time! :) As we knock doors, we leave mormon.org cards with our number on them in doors, giving people a chance to find the gospel that may not be home! The only experience I have had with that so far has been someone calling to complain that we left a card in their door, and they were away for 3 months, therefore they couldn't take it out and therefore all their neighbors knew they were out of town...hahaha they were so mad at us! Oops! Sorry for trying to share the restored gospel with you! ;) Anywho...a couple weeks ago we received a text message from who we later came to know as Ben. He said that we had left a card in his door, and that he was interested in learning about our church and maybe attending one of our services! Like what?! Miracles!! I honestly thought it was a joke...because it just never happens! We set up an appointment to see him, and boy was I a ball of nerves going to that appointment! This is our miracles potential investigator, whom at this point all we knew is that he is 24 and lives with his mom...we knock on the door and around the corner comes Ben. The lesson was amazing. :) We met outside, as there wasn't another female present...but it went so well! We were able to teach him the restoration, and he accepted the invitation to be baptized! Sadly, because he is YSA and a male, we will be passing him off to the Zone Leaders this week...but I am just so grateful for the MIRACLE of being able to find and teach him! I am gaining such a testimony that we just need to be worthy of Heavenly Father's referrals, and He will give them to us! 

Wow! I am just beaming right now. :) Heavenly Father has blessed us with so much!! I just love knowing that He is there for all of us, no matter what, ya know?! Also, weird to think that all of you are starting your summer vacations here pretty dang soon...so weird! Enjoy the nice weather! I know I am!! Haha 

love,

Sister Van Valkenburg

Miracle: We went back to visit a potential, and his wife answered the door. We were able to have a really nice conversation with her about the gospel, and set a return appointment for a week later because they are going out of town. She got really excited and asked if we like jam...and ran to go grab some for us! As she was going to get the jam, she yelled to her husband excitedly "We are going to have bible study with the Sister Missionaries on Friday!" We just about died laughing! Hahaha we had been talking about the Book of Mormon...I can't wait until Friday! :) And here is a pretty picture of our jam with the view from their house. Stunning!

Another picture without the jam jars. I am obsessed with clouds still...and absolutely loved these ones. :)

We were on a walk with a girl named Ashley, who was wearing a pig onesie when we met her and walking down the road, and saw these ducks just chilling on a fence! Thought I would grab a picture. :)

​Tan lines from my shoes! Proof that the sun is here! hahaha I love it! You get the weirdest tan lines as a missionary, let me tell ya! Hahaha the best is the line you get on your chest from your bag strap going across. XD It's so fun! I love being a misisonary! :D 

May 15,2017 Email :D

Okay. So once upon a time is was Monday, May 8. We were parked along the side of a drainage ditch and upon arriving at our car at 8:45after an appointment, we got in in preparation to drive home! I, the driver, put the car into drive and pull forward, parallel to the ditch and go to flip a U-turn to go back home.(there was a road just ahead of us to use to turn around) As I turn the car to the right, to make the turn, I feel a slight tip,and down we go into the ditch! I had missed the edge of the road by only about a foot, and because of the recent rain...there was a TON of mud, the dirt/mud gave way and we slid into the ditch! It was a gentle slide in...and only the front part went in...it was shallow enough and such that the back left wheels were still on the road and such...but it was no bueno! We were stuck in the mud. Luckily, a good samaritan...whom we might have flagged down...had a chain and was able to pull us out! We were home after curfew muddy and tired...but safe! The plastic bumper cover is a tad bit dented in..but upon inspection from Boyd Auto and the mission vehicle manager, no maintenance is required and the only thing damaged is my pride! 

Poor car wasn't made for mudding....;)

battle wounds.

On another note...that honestly isn't related to this incident at all and was already planned...we got tiwis in our cars! Which are these little monitors that track our speed and have a built in GPS and way to test if we are going around curves or over bumps too hard....and then yell at you and send a text message to President Burt and the fleet coordinator. They are made by a company named inthinc...and I am honestly so grateful for them! I feel so much more accountable! And no, I haven't even had one warning or speed yell thingie! I'm doing good! hahaha I think the cool thing is that they have the logo of their company on the monitor thingie, and it looks like it says "Inthine" like in thine hands I know I am and I am in thine car and need to respect thine property...hahaha! It's so fun!

​
​

May 15,2017 Email :D

Happy Mothers Day yesterday! 

Oh my goodness it was such a blessing to see my beautiful family! Just a little plug...sorry folks...I am just so grateful for all that they have taught me by word and action! I have noticed a lot out here that the qualities that I have that I have really come to value are things that I learned from my mom. I am so grateful for her! (And the rest of my family, of course! It was just Mother's Day so..ya know)

There was a quote I found this week from Quentin L Cook that says "Being sincerely Christlike is an even more important goal than being authentic." Wow! This hit home for me. It is so important to be representing Christ as best we can at every moment we can! Especially as a missionary because His name is on our chest...but also as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! When we are baptized we promise to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. :) So being sincerely Christlike is a promise that we have made to God. A promise that we renew each week when we take the sacrament. (Such a blessing!) I am so grateful for this little reminder I found this week. :)

This week I was able to see so many miracles! It is such a blessing when you look to see the miracles in your life! I promise you, you will find them! Our teaching pool hasn't been...progressing...really well lately, so we were promised by a loving Sister Training Leader that if we cleanse our teaching pool and former a lot of people that aren't progressing (Basically just focus on them less and look for new opportunities to teach) that we would receive many blessings! So we did! And out of that came a couple miracles. :) Here is one of my favorites! 

We have a goal each day for how many Potentials we want to be blessed to find. A potential is someone who basically says they are interested in learning more, and have the "potential" to become an investigator. We had a goal the other day of 4. We were done knocking doors and finding for the day, and only had lessons to go to for the rest of the night and only had 2 potentials. As we were walking to an appointment, we were talking about how we only had about 5-10 minutes until our finding time for the day would be over and we wanted so badly to reach our goal! I felt prompted to knock on a specific door as we were walking. The door opened, and a lady answered who ended up becoming a potential! As we were writing down her information after, we sat down on a bus stop bench. As we stood up to go, a teenage girl and her boyfriend walked up to us. The girl was really shy, but blurted out "hi" and just stood there. We, slightly taken aback, introduced ourselves and our purpose as missionaries and asked if she would ever be interested in meetings with us. She just nodded her head yes. It was such a miracle! :D Just like that, we were able to meet our goal! I know that Heavenly Father wants to bless us if we just make ourselves worthy and ready to receive His miracles! It was such a cool experience to recognize Heavenly Father's hand in our lives! 

I am so grateful for the privilege I have of being here in the Canada Vancouver mission! I know that Heavenly Father needs me here, and I know that when we follows His will, we will always be where we need to be! Have such an amazing week everyone!

love, Sister Van Valkenburg

ps. I hit my 4 month mark on Thursday...how weird...:O

I finally ate poutine for the first time! It wasn't bad! This is a classic poutine with fries, gravy, and cheese curds. :D

Oh Sister Miller...if you can't tell what she is pointing at, it's deli ham. She didn't realize this until we got home at 9:00..but during lunch she had "put the ham away" in her suitcase! :O Oh dear. Hahaha thus is the life with Sister Miller! And yes, she has been here for almost 2 weeks and still isn't unpacked. XD

Beautiful view of good 'ol Okanagan lake!

We had a movie night last night and watched some of President Monson's On the Lord's Errand. We decided to pop some popcorn and Sister Miller put just a touch more kernels than needed. XD I have a lovely video of her trying to fix the situation! Haha love her!

May 8,2017 Email :D

Hello everyone! :D 

This week I was able to get my new companion, Sister Miller! She came from Whiterock as her last area, and is just SO full of energy and enthusiasm! She is constantly trying to be the best person she can be as a missionary, and relies fully on the Lord! I absolutely love it! I think she spends more time on her knees than anyone I've ever met, and I just adore her passion for the work! She genuinely loves everyone she meets and I aim to be just like that! We hit it off immediately, and were able to have a good first few days together! (And still going strong, of course!) Our comp name is Milkenburger...as we always have to combine our names into something for the heck of it..hahaha. Sister Thurber's name with mine was Van Thurberger or something like that. :) Fun times! You can't tell in the pictures that much...but Sister Miller looks a big liker Hermoine Granger...from Harry Potter...it cracks me up! 

Our weeks activities have included starting a gratitude wall where we write blessings of the day on sticky notes and make a collage that we add to each day...I totally forgot to take a picture..but I will send one next week! It's awesome! We also tried to make brownies...but somewhere between gluten free and our oven...we made charcoal. Hahaha I promise I can bake! We also drew mustaches on our fingers for Cinco de Mayo and sang in Spanish a lot...hahaha you can't get away with a lot to celebrate as a missionary, but we put forth a good effort!

I had a really cool experience this week where we were able to role play with a member of the ward. When we asked for feedback on the role play, the lady told me that I had came across really fake. She knows me, and she realized that I was trying to be like Sister Miller, who is over the top bubbly, chatty and bold. I am more straightforward and quiet. She told me to not worry about being someone else, and to just be myself because only then can the Spirit be there! Only then can I be genuinely in tune. It was such an important lesson for me to re-learn. I know that we all need to just be ourselves! It's so simple...but it just really hit me hard this week. :) I am so grateful for the little experiences we all get to have each day to be able to become better. :D 

Sorry this email is so scattered! It's a good discription of my brain right now! 

LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

Comp study on the beach!

Exhibit A and B of our brownie experience...

Sister Miller made me a sandwich. :D #wifeher #notyetthough #loveher

Me trying to be a photographer again

Selfie...again
​

Have a fantastic week!

May 1,2017 Email :D

Now you may think by the title of this email that I am now going to be in a new area...but you are wrong! Hahaha I am getting a new companion, though, in beautiful West Kelowna! Sister Thurber is heading off to Port Moody, and I am getting her MTC companion as my new companion! I can't wait to meet her! Sister Miller from Columbus, Ohio! ...that's about all I know. Also, I have seen a picture or two and she is BEAUTIFUL and just glows with the Spirit! :D I am so excited!!! 

This past week we had a district meeting where Sister Thurber and I were able to give a training on following up with giving commitments. We had such a fun time calling up one missionary from each companionship (4 total) and giving them a "commitment" to do until further notice. We had a sister braiding her hair, and some elders tying and retying ties, walking around the perimeter of the room, and holding their breath! Then we gave them more commitments, promised blessings, and never followed up with the past commitments! Some would just stop doing the other ones as more were added, and some tried to do all at once! There was jump rope, pushups, singing, reciting, you name it going on! It was so funny to watch! And then, of course, we tied it all back to the importance of following up and explaining commitments. It was awesome! Going with our goal of being 24/7 missionaries (as described in last week's email) We made some sweatbands that said 24/7 on them for the elder who had to do the pushups! It was so fun and made such a good point! :D I love trainings like that! Well, I love trainings in general! Love learning. :) 

A scripture I came across this week really stood out to me:

Hebrews 12:9 

9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence : shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits , and live? 

It was one of those "duh" moments that I just love in the scriptures! I have always loved comparing our relationship with our Heavenly Father with our relationship with our earthly father. This scripture makes such a good point and I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have of a loving Father in Heaven that knows me and wants the very best for me! I love Him and I know He loves me! <3 

Sorry there wasn't anything terribly exciting this week, but just know that I absolutely LOVE being a missionary! Have an amazing week!!

love

Sister Van Valkenburg

Here are the bomb sweatbands we made! Hahaha we thought we were so cool! XD

Kind of getting into photography...this little guy was right outside our door!

So behind Sister Thurber, you see a bridge. This bridge has a river underneath it. We have a tradition that whenever we walk across this bridge, we each break off a twig

from a tree/bush and toss it in the river, then run to the other side and see which twig "wins" This is Sister Thurber with her last "twig" that she tried for...longer than necessary

to break off of the bush XD

This is the lady I wrote about in my letter and her husband, the ward mission leader. :) Brother and Sister Moyor. I love them!

Some of you may know that I am allergic to cats...but this one looked so friendly! Did I know I was allergic? Yes. Did I pick it up anyway? Yup. Did I have an allergic reaction? Oh yeah. Do I regret anything? Not a chance. ;) Hahaha have a good week everyone!