This week has been crazy!

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been crazy! ... I can't even remember all of what has happened since last I e-mailed!! We started out with some service, we went to the soup kitchen which was really fun! I was in charge of busing tables so I was able to interact more with people than Sister Horrocks who was serving the food. It was good fun, I don't think I've had to clarify to more people that I am NOT a nun than I did in just a few short hours working over there. I also got all sorts of random questions such as "your Mormon so you don't believe in dancing right?" "... Ummmm ... No we believe in dancing" "Oh, yeah! You guys just don't believe in coffee" "Nope, we don't drink coffee." I even had the opportunity to teach a little bit of the first lesson all on my lonesome. It was a blast, but it really made me think about how blessed I have been in my life. Especially when we saw children come in, it was worse that day as well because it was snowing super hard and to watch these people who have no where to go walk out in that weather broke my heart. We also had the opportunity to teach seminary!! Our members went out of town for their son's wedding and they Sister White teaches seminary so she needed someone to sub for her while she was gone. We volunteered and then realized that they were in Revelation!! AHH! We were freaking out all week and spent a bunch of time studying because you can't really teach something that you yourself don't understand. So we tried our hardest to understand it... It was an adventure to say the least, and all in all I think the lesson went pretty well. Lets see... What else happened this week... Umm... We had an adorable little girl come up to us while we were eating out with Harriet and just introduce herself. She wants to be an missionary one day:) It made me feel a little bit famous;) Well I guess that leaves us to Sunday which was amazing of course because Harriet got confirmed AND another cadet from one of the other wards got baptized!

      In fact we were on our way into the baptism when Harriet came floating up to us (she had just gotten out of an interview with the bishop) and said "I just got my temple recommend!" So we are mega excited because we will be able to go do baptisms with her for her first time. She also spoke at the new member fireside that we hold once a month. She was really nervous to get up and bear her testimony but she did wonderful! I did not get called up to give an impromptu testimony this time which was a relief! Overall, Sunday was a  wonderful day! So, before I go just a quick thought from my personal studies! Its in Matthew 9:12-13 it says, and this is talking about Jesus Christ and when sinners came unto him and sat down with him and the Pharisees were asking the disciples why Christ was eating with sinners and Jesus hears and says: "But when Jesus hear that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and no sacrifice: I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Isn't that such a great verse? Many times in life Satan tries to convince us that we are not worthy to pray or to use the atonement. However, Christ didn't come to the world expecting us to be perfect, rather he came into the world because he knew that we wouldn't be. If we were perfect then we would have no need for repentance, and  if we had no need for repentance then there would have been no need for the Atonement. But, one thing that a lot of missionaries have been saying here that I love is that if you were the only one on the entire earth that Christ needed to perform the Atonement for then he would still do it. He is our ritualistic physician, and if we turn to him he can heal us. I know that this is true! I know that God the Eternal Father and his son Jesus Christ love and care for each and every one of us personally and they never want us to suffer. I love you all so much! Have a FANTASTIC week!!!

Love,

Sister Bice

Dear Family and Friends

Dear Family and Friends,

Yesterday was one of the most amazing days of my life!!! Yesterday, Harriet got baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I didn't know that I could feel so much happiness but seeing how happy she was just made me so much happier that we were so privileged as to be allowed to be there with her on such an important day. She has taught me so much more than I think I could have ever have taught her!! We also had an amazing lesson with one of the less active members that we are working with. He has been meeting with the missionaries for a while and hasn't been progressing. Many times we have been asked if we should drop him but Sister Horrocks and I felt that we needed to keep meeting with him and that it wasn't the right time to drop him. So, we did! Well the last time we met with him was amazing!! Why you may ask, well because in all honesty we didn't teach him anything! We had only gotten as far as sharing the scripture we had prepared when he had a 'light bulb moment' and pretty much the spirit taught him from there. I really think he is going to progress from this point on, he knows what he needs to do and now he just needs to do it. It's crazy how the times I feel the most successful as a missionary are the times that I talk the least ... But that is how it should be, our purpose as missionaries is to invite the spirit. If I can do that then I know that I have achieved my purpose:)

     Goodness! I don't even know what to write about! I feel like I have seen countless miracles in the past week and I don't even know where I can start. But I guess I can share with you all my testimony. I know without a doubt that this church is true, I know that it was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that living this gospel is the quickest and surest way to happiness in this life and that we can truly ENJOY to the end because no matter how tough times may get, and no matter how many times people may tell us we are wrong. I know that true and lasting happiness will come if I but hold on to the word of this gospel. I know that what I am doing out here in Colorado is truly the Lords work. I love this gospel with all my heart. I may have shared this scripture with you before but I love it! Its in Alma 30:8-9 "For thus saith the scripture: Choose ye this day, whom ye will serve. Now if a man desired to serve God, it was his privilege; or rather, if he believed in God it was his privilege to serve him..." I love that so much!! Honestly, it has been such a privilege to serve him, to stand as HIS witness at ALL times and in ALL things and in ALL places. It has been a privilege for me to meet the people I have, they have all touched my life in innumerable ways and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity the Lord has given me to dedicate my life to him for 18 months. I love you all so much!!

Love,

Sister Bice

Snow Anyone?

Family and Friends!!

This week was a glorious week! Of course I can say that because lets face it I'm a missionary and no matter how tough things get I can always keep my chin up because I know this work is far greater than myself. On Tuesday, we got to do a mini mission, meaning from 8:00 in the morning when our studies started to 10:00 at night when planning was over we had a temporary companion. Her name was Jenny and she is going on a mission here soon and wanted a 'mission experience' before she went. It was a bit hard to learn how to teach in a threesome but it was good fun!! We even took her tracting for about 15 minutes and the only person we tracted into was a member.... But! I think she had a good experience with it which is what we were praying for.

     We also had a miracle this week!! We ran to wal-mart to get some treats for district meeting. Only we were getting some very specific treats that we could not find. So we were wondering all over and finally found them, we were talking about the price when a man came past us to buy something. He made some comment about what he was buying and then.. He stopped and talked to us!! We taught him a quick lesson right there in wal-mart and we even have a return appointment! It was great:) In fact, we have been challenging almost every member we talk to, to do a gratitude journal and have the first thing everyday be a miracle that they saw. I think that as a companionship the fact that we look for miracles each day and acknowledge them has made it so that in this past week we have seen more miracles than we have in previous weeks. It is such a testimony to me that God has a hand in our lives and blesses us when we acknowledge his hand.

      In fact, we got to be someones miracle this week! This week it Allison's(the member we live with) prom! So we REALLY wanted to see her in her dress before she got picked up so... we got home as fast as we could so we could see her... Only when we got home she wasn't there yet and Sister White was upstairs trying to frantically sew on the sleeve to Allison's prom dress to make it modest. So not to waste any time, Sister Horrocks and I jumped in to help. There was one point where I had to literally sew Allison's dress ON her! But, we got her out the door and off to prom with both sleeves of her dress on so it all turned out great!! So along those lines I have been reading in 3 Nephi where Christ is healing the sick and seeing the people one by one, and it made me think of the Hillary Weeks song where it said "when he had a world to save, he had a world of time to stop and hold a little child." So as I was thinking this week I realized that if the Savior of the world with the most important mission ever had time to stop and serve those around him. Then we should as well, we all have lives and we all get super busy, but do we allow ourselves to stop and serve those who may need it? I know that I don't do as well as I should. Sometimes, I put on my blinders and just do what I need to. But, how many times have I missed out on being someones miracle because of that? The thought kind of made me sad! So, it's my goal this week to render some kind of service to EVERYONE I come in contact with. I would challenge you all as well to look for someone in your lives who could use your smile, your testimony or your service, if you do I promise that you will be someones miracle!

I love you all so much!!!

Love,

Sister Bice