Coming Full Circle

Bonjour mes chers amis et ma chere famille!

This will be my last email in the mission field, since I be heading back to Paris next week to finish my mission! It is completely unreal when I think about it, and I don’t feel like it is going to actually hit me until I step off that plane onto American soil. I am feeling all sorts of emotions, but underneath it all, an inner peace as my mission comes to a close. I am excited to see my parents when they come to France to pick me up and tour my mission cities with me!

Soeur Hosking and I had a week full of miracles. It just so happened that our little angel girl from last week was right … the city of Angleur is a gold mine!!! We found so many new amies and prepared people!!! We met with one woman named, Delphine, as she came up to us at the bus stop and noticed our badges and invited us to come over and meet with her. She is an African single mom who is super-believing and was nothing but all ears during our lesson with her. I could see the light shine in her eyes as she was on the edge of her seat, intently listening as we testified of Joseph Smith seeing God and Jesus Christ after he prayed to know which church was true. Her smile spread across her face as she put her hand on her heart and said, "That has got to be true. I can just FEEL it." We encouraged her to take the time that night to kneel down and ask her Father in Heaven for herself, to know if what we were teaching was true. She said she would, and then I felt the Spirit push me to invite her to follow Jesus Christ's example and be baptized by someone who holds the restored authority of God, once she received her own personal answer that what we were teaching was true. She said she would! My heart burned and joy filled my soul as I looked into her eyes and promised her that she really would receive her answer, and that there is no greater feeling. I may not see Delphine's progress towards her baptism, but I know that she will get there when it is her time!

We met with several other people from the same city who were just so prepared! People always told me that there were special 'pearls' and 'treasures' that would be placed in my path at the end of my mission … as tender mercies from my Heavenly Father. I am seeing these beautiful moments and experiences more than ever as my mission comes to a close! There is too much beauty that surrounds us, and beautiful people that light up our lives; how can there not be a God?

At the beginning of the week, Soeur Hosking grew really sick. She woke me up in the middle of the night saying she hadn’t slept, and was just holding her stomach saying she had a really sharp pain in her side. I asked her several questions and we were able to eliminate what we thought were the common problems it could be. She was nervous about it and was in so much pain. We did what we could to help her, but as she laid back down, I grew really anxious thinking about it. After she explained her symptoms, I knew something was wrong.

When she went to the bathroom, I knelt down by my bedside and pleaded with Heavenly Father to help her cope with the pain. I asked Him to please help us know what we needed to do to help her and asked that everything would be okay. I could feel God’s love in that moment, and I knew without a doubt that He was listening to my heartfelt prayer.

In the morning we called the mission doctor and talked with her about how she was feeling. She gave us some ideas and told us to call and check back in with her every so often if things didn’t get better. The pain continued on throughout the next day, and at our district meeting, I felt so strongly that she needed a priesthood blessing. Soeur Hosking agreed and we arranged for the elders to give her a blessing that she might have the strength she needed during this time of sickness and pain.

The spirit was so strong during the blessing. With the elders as His instruments, the Lord was able to bless Soeur Hosking with the comfort, strength and peace she needed. After about an hour or so, Soeur Hosking’s pain just disappeared. All of her terrible side effects had worn off and she was back to normal. It was a miracle. How blessed we are to have the priesthood (the power of GOD to bless His children) on the earth today!

It has been a wonderful 18 months here in France and Belgium. My experiences will be locked deep in my heart for the rest of my life, and will be brought out to share and bless the lives of others around me! The power of prayer is real. God exists, and He knows us by name! I know that my Redeemer lives, and that when we place our whole trust in Him, we have nothing to fear!! I will never be the same, having served alongside the Savior in this sacred work.

Thank you to all who have played such a special role in my life, and during my mission. It will be a sweet reunion to see you once again!! My heart breaks knowing I will be leaving these beautiful countries I have grown to love, full of people that have become my closest friends, even like family to me. But I know I will see them again, whether it be in this life or the next, for that is our goal … to return to live with Him, and to be sealed with our families FOREVER. The best way I can honor these people and this consecrated time here is to forever live true to what I know; to do my best to step in the footprints the Savior has left in front of me. I know that if I do that, all will be well, no matter what comes my way.

"The distance between you and God is the distance between your knees and the floor."

PRAY ALWAYS! LOVE YOU! See you soon …

Soeur Madeline Vance

Become as a Little Child

What an incredible week! I love Liège! I am truly convinced that it is the perfect place to end my mission. Our Pday was Belgium’s Independence Day! The three sisters that live in my apartment and I all dressed in Belgium colors ... black, yellow and red … to celebrate!! Haha, all of the stores were closed, and they mostly celebrated by simply taking the day to relax with their families. We walked by a few cute grandmas with canes on the way to the bus stop and they smiled, pointing to our outfits. They loved them, and it was fun for us to get into it as well!!

We went to our branch barbeque on our Pday with all of the members. It was one of the best times of my life!!! It was pouring rain, but we went under a pavilion and had a huge barbeque! Everyone was laughing, shouting national anthems from all over the world, and doing Belgium trivia. We were able to talk with some of the members' friends and explain to them a little bit more about what we believe and our roles as missionaries. It was really cool, and towards the end, one of the members pulled out their soccer ball … I couldn’t resist!!! Haha, luckily we brought a change of clothes, and we went over to the DIRT field!! I felt like I was playing in Mexico or something, it was so much fun! Our whole branch joined in; it was raining and muddy, but so much fun and I was laughing so hard. There is nothing like playing soccer with those you've come to love!

Fun fact about Belgium: They have a king and queen … Philippe and Matilde. Their castle is right in our city! We pass by it every day.

Soeur Hosking and I saw so many miracles this week! One of them was meeting Martina. We received her information as a referral from missionaries in Germany. Martina had recently moved across the border into Belgium, and into our mission, so now it is our opportunity to teach her!! We took a couple different trains and buses to get out there where she lives, taking about two hours, and found her house. It was really neat, because it was right by the German border.

She was so happy that we had come so far to meet with her. She shared so many of her trials with us and opened up about how she had seen the hand of God in her life through those trials. Sometimes I think we forget how much the Lord really does for us. We taught in English and her German accent was the cutest! She is excited to meet with us again and is going to pray and ask God if what we shared with her is true. Prayer is so powerful; I can’t even count the number of times it has strengthened me throughout my mission.

We then had my last zone conference! President and Soeur Babin came and talked to us about our divine and precious worth in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. They are so good at that; making me feel loved when sometimes I can feel so small in this huge world. I really do know that my Heavenly Father knows me personally; there is no doubt in my mind about that. I shared my testimony with the other missionaries there, as it would be my last opportunity to do so. My heart swelled with gratitude as I shared the incredible things I have learned the past year and a half that I have been out here. I have changed and grown so much, and yet I have so much more I need to give.

We had interviews with President and Soeur Babin right after the conference. Even though I don’t know them super well, I can truly feel that these leaders are called of God. They both gave me great advice and encouraged me to work right up until the end. Soeur Babin encouraged me to only speak in French to my companion, and to help her out as much as I can! She turned to me and said, "Soeur Vance, you have so little time left. You have given everything to this work, and it shows. I know it must be hard working here knowing you are leaving in two short weeks. Now is the time to show love for your companion. Work for HER. Find families and people to teach for HER. You may not see the fruits of these efforts, but it will be the best gift you could ever give her." Hearing that made me more motivated than ever to leave this place better than I found it!

The Lord really does know us. Sunday it was really hot outside, and my poor companion looked like she was going to drop from heatstroke! We drank a bunch of water and headed out for the night to find some new amies, or people to teach. We weren’t really sure where to go, but decided on the city of Angleur, not too far away. As we were sitting at our bus stop, a girl stumbled over to the bench where we were waiting. She just stood in front of me, closed her eyes and smiled. She must have been about seven years old, and I couldn’t see where her parents were. I kind of giggled at how cute she was, and when she opened her eyes to look at me, I noticed she was cross-eyed and disabled. Her brown hair was cut super short, almost causing others to confuse her for a little boy. She couldn’t really speak, but came and sat next to me and started fiddling with the stack of papers I had in my hand (the branch list - addresses of all the members). She kept giggling and smiling at me.

She then started pulling at our city map and flipped through all of the pages. She stopped on a page and pointed to a spot on it. Soeur Hosking and I were puzzled and looked closely at where she was pointing. It was Angleur, the city we had already decided to go to, and the girl continued on and pulled my papers from my hands, handing one sheet to me and one to Soeur Hosking. We laughed and had so much fun watching this cute girl. She then walked over, and pointed down at my sheet, looking up. She went over to Soeur Hosking's sheet and did the same thing; then she smiled and walked away. When we looked down, we realized she had pointed directly to two families that are inactive in the church in the city of ANGLEUR!!! We felt the strongest impression that we would need to pass by them.

It was the craziest thing … how in the world did she do that? We were so confused, and finally the bus pulled up. We got on and sat down by the window. We smiled at her as she waved goodbye to us. It was only then, as we were pulling away, that I noticed what was printed on her blue little t-shirt. In beautiful cursive letters was written, "ANGEL". Tears filled my eyes. God sends us angels in our lives. She was one of them. I learned something from her that night … it was something I can’t really describe, but something I will never forget. Now I understand why our Savior asks us to ‘become like a child' … because they are perfect and oh so close to that heavenly veil.

Christ lives. I only have a couple more weeks to wear this black badge and officially represent Him in all I say and do. It is the greatest experience in the entire world, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Continue to notice the angels that are placed in your lives to lead and guide you along. They stand on our right and our left, I truly feel them there. Thank you for your love, and for your examples. You are my angels, and I will forever be grateful for you! Have a great week!

Soeur Madeline Vance

Loving Liège

Liège. I love it here! Congrats to Germany on winning the World Cup! I could hear the crowds shouting in the streets below our apartment as I was falling asleep. GO EUROPE!

A few days ago, my companion and I were rushing home because it was pouring rain. The streets were flooding and we were drenched and like wet dogs! As we scurried to cross the street, I saw a huge puddle in front of me, blocking me from getting up on the sidewalk. Cars were starting to come towards me and the only way up on the sidewalk was to jump for it. I took a step back and went to leap over the long and huge puddle of water. I surprised myself by clearing the puddle, but was also very suddenly surprised by the stretchability of my skirt! As I turned, I realized my skirt hadn't stretched, it had RIPPED!!! All the way up the back. I was mortified!!! I threw my shoulder bag to the back of my body to cover up the open flaps of fabric now exposing my legs!!! I was dying laughing and the rain continued to pelt me in the face. My companion gasped when she saw me and almost fell over laughing. I proceeded to slink around with my back to the crowds of people and slipped into the nearest store, buying the fastest thing I could find! Dad, hence the 15 Euro charge for pants. It was quite the embarrassing scene, but we sure had a good laugh together!

I am now serving in a BRANCH, and there are only about 40 active members. They were so warm and friendly to me; I loved them instantly. In Relief Society, one of the women was giving announcements, and then told us the opening hymn we would be singing. She scanned the room searching for someone to lead the music, so I raised my hand to volunteer. She smiled and waved me up to the front of the room. As I was getting up from my chair, she pointed to the piano bench. What? I was confused. I giggled and told her, ‘‘No, no I don’t play piano.'' She assured me, ''Don’t be shy, we won’t judge you, go ahead!'' I don’t think they understood when I said that I don’t play piano, that I DONT PLAY PIANO! Hahaha, I sat down anyway and tried to pull from my memory the piano lessons I had taken as a young girl, so that I could play this hymn for them. I was holding the book in one hand and trying to play the cords on my right hand; all this while everyone was singing way faster than me! I was laughing so hard to myself, and squirmed when I would clank on the wrong notes. Oh man, it was so funny!!! They all thanked me afterwards and I just smiled, knowing I had basically just made up my own song.

Enough of the embarrassing stories. Belgium is known for their delicious french fries and waffles. There are stands selling them everywhere. I tried them, and I can attest to the fact that they are delicious! But now I am trying to stay clear for my own sake, haha. Soeur Hosking and I are working so well together! She is a fearless young missionary. She is always so happy and can be caught at any moment singing an EFY or Disney song. She really has a desire to change this place and work well with the members! I love her so much!

We were passing by the home of an old amie named Caroline. As we walked down her street, a woman was walking towards us, and I stopped and began talking to her. As soon as I said that I was from the United States, she broke out into a perfect American accent saying, "Oh, well we can speak in English then!” (Little does she know that it is now more difficult for me to speak English than French, haha) Her name was Françoise, and she explained how she is a Bible Study professor at Arizona State University and said she had plenty of students who were Mormon. She is Belgian and is home visiting her parents who live here! She was so surprised to hear that there is a Mormon church here in Liège as well! We left her with a brochure and testified that God really does hear our prayers. She was really touched and said she would look up the church in Arizona!!! If she doesn’t find it, I will gladly help her find it when I’m home!!

We are mapping out the area and focusing on the guidance of the Spirit to help direct us to those who have been prepared and who need to hear our message. We are seeing so many miracles! I loved meeting a specific member here named Christiane. She has a solid testimony, but is really trying to stop smoking so she can be worthy to go to the temple to do work for her grandmother. She is so sweet and hilarious! We talked with her about enduring to the end and centering our lives on Christ. It was a powerful lesson.

I know that the Lord's plans for us are greater than our own. He knows us perfectly. He knows those we teach perfectly, and that’s why He blesses us with ideas and inspiration to help them grow closer to Him. Have a great week! I LOVE BELGIUM! I LOVE MY MISSION!

Soeur Madeline Vance