.....15........ AHHH!!!!‏

Dear Family and Friends!

Today is my 15 month! AHHHH!!! I still can't figure out what happened.... I'm sure that I am not out that long. But, other than that this week has been good. We have had a lot of barbecues this week... Something about school being out and it being summer. As for the hail storms, my old area got hit pretty good but we just got a lot of rain! We heard it was crazy though. We have also been doing a lot of landscaping work for members lately so I've got some very goofy farmers tans! 

     But it is all good:) We love being able to do service, its something that seems to bless our work so much. This week we had a lesson with an investigator who has told missionaries in the past that she doesn't plan on getting baptized. Her husband is not supportive and she just doesn't want to do it. But, when we taught her she spoke up in the lesson (before we asked her even) and told us that one way or another she was going to be baptized. She just wanted to try her best to get her husband and family on board with her first and if not then she was still going to join the church. I  was so happy to hear that and I couldn't help but think about all the missionaries that have taught her and how frustrated they were when she said she wasn't going to be baptized and it reminded me that sometimes we are only a step in  the path to helping others to Christ. Our mission President investigated the church for 7 years before he got baptized and he is now a mission president! 

      People change, whether or not we are there to see that change. We cannot give up on people just because they are not changing now. If we keep it up and are persistent then we will see the change. But, even if we do not, our charge is to love everyone. No matter what. That is something that I have learned a lot about on my mission. There are people I have taught that didn't end up getting baptized or accepting the gospel. But, they still hold a very special place in my heart. We talked a lot on Sunday about charity and having Christ like love for everyone. That love is something that never changes. It stays the same and is always there. It is love that Christ has asked us to have for others and love that if we have for others will change our lives. I've seen that on my mission. I don't think I could love anyone outside of family as much as I have come to love companions, investigators, members and other missionaries. It is amazing! But, on that note I love you all so much!

Love,

Sister Bice

First Sunburn of the Year!!‏

Dear Family and Friends!!

     This week was a good week:) I always say this, but it is always true! We were able to teach a lot this week! We were also able to do a ton of service!!!! Everyone is starting to landscape their yards and they need a lot of help so we have helped. In fact, I got my first sunburn of the year on Saturday, I was excited, but it was also unfortunate because I was wearing gloves.... So, now I have a nice glove tan line:/ Hopefully, no on will notice too much though.

      Lets, see I don't even know where to start with this week. So far we have one person with a baptism date, and 3 other progressing investigators! The work is moving forward in this ward which seems to keep us busy. Sister Perrin and I already seem to teach really well together so I'm excited to see how we grow in that aspect. It is always fun getting to know a new ward because a lot of the time I feel like I have known the people a lot longer than I actually have!

      Goodness, there is so much that happened this week though. I don't think I could even cover it all if I tried... But it was great:) It reminded me of a scripture in on of my favorite Book of Mormon chapters its in Mosiah 24 and since it is one of my favorites I've probably shared it before. It says: "And now it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage." I love this because it wasn't just their faith that was great. They were not delivered out of bondage just because they had great faith.

       Instead, it says so great was their patience AND their faith. I feel like I have come to understand this more on my mission than any other time. We are asked and required to have faith. But, how often do we patiently wait for the answer or the miracle that comes as a result of our faith. I know that many times and many transfers I have had a hard time. People wouldn't listen or my companions were hard to get along with or I just doubted myself. But, I know that if we are patient and we keep going, then the Lord WILL deliver us from that bondage of Satan.

       Those thoughts or feelings of discouragement will go away as long as we remember that we need to be patient and if we are then all will be well. I love you all so much and hope that you are all having wonderful weeks!

Love,

Sister Bice

Another area another move!‏

Dear Family and Friends!

      This week I embarked on my sixth mission area! It has been crazy!! Whenever anyone asks me what area's I've served in I just want to respond... "It's quite a list is it okay if I just tell you the Stakes I've served in... That is much shorter!" Not only that but since I'm in a new area I've stopped telling everyone how long I have been on my mission. They all think that I've been out 'just about a year' It scares me to much when they know how long I've been out and then they just want to ask me about what I'm going to do when I get home or they tell me I'm on the downhill slide!! AHHH!!

      But this week was good! It was filled with a lot of new faces and a lot of new names... Most of which I don't remember! But, as hard as it is to leave old area's and come to new area's I just felt like it was time. I felt like I had done what the Lord wanted me to in the Jackson Creek ward and now it was time for me to move on. So here I am and I know that I am going to love it! My new companion is a blast! She is from Northern Idaho in a really really small town and she has 14 sisters and 2 brothers!!! She is also the youngest so many of her nieces and nephews are as old as she is or they are older... That is a crazy thought to me!!

       I recently started reading the Book of Mormon again and I was in the chapter of the vision of the tree of life. And as I was reading something that struck me was the Laman and Lemuel their father called them over to the tree and they refused... They didn't even commence on the path they headed right on over to the great and spacious building. I just thought about how so many people see the love of God they see the joy it may bring to others, but they refuse to even start the journey to get to the tree. Laman and Lemuel didn't even try.. They just gave up right from the get go!

       I think that there are a lot of people who see us as members of the chruch and see the happiness it brings us. But, they don't want to commence on the path it would take to receiving that happiness for themselves. There are so many people who are scared of the path for whatever reason. Maybe they see the obstacles that the path presents and they just don't even want to try. But, whatever the reason they see that love of God but refuse to fully partake of it. That just makes me so sad! I wish we could help people understand the help and that God provides for us. We have His word to hold onto that will bring us right to Him and to His love!! All He asks is that we hold on, and then when we have partaken of that love He asks that we stay strong to Him and Endure to the End...

      Those thoughts were a bit more jumbled than I intended them to be. But, I was just thinking about this a lot this week and thinking about how it pertains to those that I meet everyday. You see people at different stages of this process of coming unto Christ and receiving Him!

       I love you all so much and hope that you have a wonderful week! this week was crazy... But, maybe I will have more to report on next week!

Love,

Sister Bice

Back to the East!‏

Dear Friends and Family,

     I know that I say this a lot but time is so weird!!! It is time for transfers again and Sister Brisow and I will be split up! I will be going back to East Colorado Springs. Its so weird how things work out here... This week was a lot of preparing for transfers and such. But, it was a really good week!! Yesterday we went to a baptism of an 8 year old girl in our ward and it was so sweet! I was glad that we got to go!!

      I've been thinking a lot this week about how the Lord makes us equal to the tasks that He gives us. Often time I've served in ward or area's where I have thought to myself, am I doing any good? But, something I came on my mission with, that I think I kind of lost for a little bit is the perspective that a lot of the good that we do, we don't see. Some people have a lot longer paths to take to come back than others and if we can be a step in that path to get them closer then I am so excited to be there and be that step!
      I have come to have this love for people and the ability that we have to change and to grow. It never stops! Our whole lives we change and we become better... Maybe sometimes we fall back. But God made us all with the ability to come back. He designed a plan to help us to return home to him. Heavenly Father doesn't expect us to be perfect all at once just as we don't expect newborn babies to jump up and start running. Everything that happens is a process, it is a process of learning and growing! Yesterday, in relief society they talked about how we have to give ourselves some wiggle room. I really liked that because I often expect of myself perfection. I don't expect it from anyone else but of myself I expect to be perfect. But, that is  not what God wants us to do! He only wants us to continually grow and improve.

      This week was a great growing experience for me. I had to stop and realize that I was expecting of myself more than Heavenly Father was expecting of me. As such I was struggling with thinking that I wasn't doing enough. Sure, there is always room to improve but as long as we are doing our best then we are doing what God wants us to do. If we let Him know in our prayer that maybe 'I am exhausted and this is the best that I can put forward today' then He will help us with the rest!

      I love you all so much! I hope that this week has been a good week for you and that you will have a happy Mothers Day on Sunday!!! :)

Love,

Sister Bice