Chapter 2: Super

Superpowers. So, I am taking a cue from my uncle. He loves all things superheroes. Recently, he wrote to me about how everybody has superpowers, usually personality traits or things we are good at. Super powers like these are amazing. It is part of our divine inheritance. It makes sense that our Heavenly Father has passed down these amazing abilities to us. I want to find my "Super Power" too and I´ll be searching for it every day.

Superbusy. Things in the office are always superbusy. I solved 3 big problems on the same day and I got my drivers license. I´m getting used to the fact that I´m here and I´m actually solving a ton of problems that I´ve found through sheer curiosity. I know that they say that curiousity killed the cat, but it also saved the Costa Rica, San Jose mission quite a bit of $$ from the looks of it. I don´t say this to brag, but I do say thank you to God for this little gift that I´ve found. I´ve also been going a little bit insane on some days in the office. Not crazy murderer, but unfocused yet super-focused secretary me. I am not working in the same way as before because now, over half my day is in the office and stuff. There are some amazing things here but I won´t let them go to my head. :)

super-missionaries. I have 3 companions right now. Elder Lewis is my main companion for this month, but Elder Hoover will be my only companion after that. Elder Pratt is also in this companionship and he is crazy. :P Elder Lewis is a ton like me but more sporty and Elder Hoover is really fun and I´ll get to know him really well. :) I am doing amazing and we love the 70s and 80s songs in our companionship. am the best with using Spanish in the office, just because the older 2 have been used to speaking English for 4 months and Elder Hoover likes to sing the English 70s songs so much. :)

Super-families. We actually have more progressing here than we had in Siquirres 2, 5 of which weren't progressing before I came but started to afterwards. It´s not because of me that they started progressing, but we taught a really powerful lesson when I first got there. It rocked. :) With Luck and the Lord we´ll have more than 1 baptism this month, which doesn´t normally happen with Secretaries. :)

Super-ancestry. I also did a bunch of Family history work today and found a date at -451 (as in BC) and taught Elder Hoover too. I´m also working with Family search from out here and I found a bunch of things that need to be reserved. It´s exciting that I finally found something :D

Super-city. We have a McDonalds, Subway, Carls Jr. and others, but I haven´t eaten there yet. (you can send gift cards, I don't mind ;) ) We don´t eat out too much, we make our own food, have a laundry machine and dryer. So no more cook or laundress here in the city. It will be different.

Superfun! The mission is great. I really got a boost of animo from my mission president and I am rockin´ and rollin´ ;)

Peace out,

oh - the pictures are of us in the office. We are working hard :)

Chapter 1: Stuck? NOPE

So last week we went to the temple and while we were inside they closed the pass to Siquirres, we thought we were stuck in San Jose for the night and made plans. However, they opened a bus route that went through turrialba so we weren´t stuck, but we had to take a 4.5 hour bus ride home. :P

I also thought that I was going to stick around in Siquirres this cambio but it turns out that the Lord had different plans for me. I am not "Stuck" with my old companion either, but I have been put into a huge place of responsibility.

You may say that I´ve been stuck in the offices because I am the Secretary of finances. It´s not a position that I thought I would have but I´m learning a whole bunch and I am where the Lord needs me. I´ve already solved a major problem in financing and I am able to learn a ton from my current trainer, Elder Lewis. My new Preparation day is Saturday (SUPER Weird :P ), but I don´t have much time because of the conference today that I´ve watched in 100% Spanish (and I loved the talk that happened in Spanish too :D ).

I heard that my old companion, Elder Gonzalez, is with a great missionary, Elder Gonzalez. The new one is from Mexico, and my old companion is from Guatemala. I´ve already received news that the Mexican is laying down the law and is really strict. I know that it´ll be really good for the Guatemalan. :)

I want to thank all of you who emailed me about hope last week. The hope and faith as active principles are fundamental to the missionary and their teachings and for everyone else too. Those emails have been awesome to read and have helped me a lot. I wanted to share this poem I wrote.

Trials come and trials go,
It´s your choice to hate or grow.

Truths are sudden and sometimes sad
But I´d be something else if I never had
These blessed packets of "growing pains"
If I don´t think on it, the hurt wains.
I´ll never forget the past I say
But I´ll live in the present, that means today.

Conference was awesome today. I loved Elder Neal L Andersen's challenge to "gain a personal witness of the Prophet Joseph Smith” by letting our “voice help fulfill Moroni’s prophetic words to speak good of the Prophet.” He said to do this by finding scriptures in the Book of Mormon that we feel and know are absolutely true. He encouraged us to then share the scriptures we found.

I took the Elder Anderson Challenge to find and share scriptures from the Book of Mormon that are 100% true, so here they are Mosiah 2:17, Helaman 5:12, Ether 12:27, and 2Nephi 26: 23-24.

I actually realized this last week that I wasn´t smiling all that much and that I needed to begin to do that again. I applied a quote from Brigham Young to make it more me. He says that if you don´t feel like praying, get down on your knees and pray until you do. My quote is "if you don´t feel like smiling, just smile until you do" ;)

Have a great week, guys.

Remember, my new p-day is Saturdays, so make sure you write me before then so I can get your emails. Also, I am super behind in my emails, so if you haven't heard from me, and you wrote me personally, I haven't forgotten, I just haven't had much time. I will get back to you! Stay safe and enjoy conference!

Love,
Elder VanderMeyden