Last Transfer... AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!‏

Dear Family and Friends,

      This week marks the beginning of my last transfer... Sister Perrin and I will stay together (making her the only companion I have had for over 3 months) and we will continue to work here in Falcon Colorado. With the anticipation of transfer calls this week has been an interesting one. We did a lot of service, we even got to help out building a turf field for a school here in falcon. That was fun.... But, I must say that turf is HOT when it is 90 degrees outside... Sister Perrin and I both burned our knees!

      It was also really funny because we took a Young Woman out with us service tracting this week and you will never guess who decided to come along and help... Her boyfriend.. Who isn't a member of the church... I don't know if you have ever heard of non-members tracting with missionaries but I most certainly had not! It was really funny and kind of awkward. But, he didn't seem to mind it at all. :) Over all this week was kind of a weird one mixed with a lot of laughter and some tears... I didn't know what to do most of the time. But, with school getting back in this week a lot of people went out of town over the weekend to get their last little break/vacation before school started. So we got asked to share the thought at ward council and it was on 'using Gods blessings wisely'. So, Sister Perrin and I were sitting there wondering what we should share.

        What we came up with was 1 Nephi 1:1 "1 I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days." Now I know this scripture is well known and probably used a lot but I was thinking about how much it highlights the difference between someone who used his blessings wisely and his brothers who did not. Laman and Lemuel had access to the same blessings that Nephi lists here. They were born of goodly parents and they were taught in the language of their father. But, the difference is that Nephi used these things to bless his family and others while Laman and Lemuel let them kind of fade away. They chose not to use them. We know from later in the Book of Mormon that because the Lamanites didn't have any writings their language became kind of corrupted. So many times I think we have gifts and blessings but we don't use them. Maybe we don't see how they can benefit others or even ourselves. But, every time we use a gift that God has given us we change a life. I know that to be true I know that God gives us things even our challenges so that one day we can turn around and bless the lives of others.

     So, I would challenge you to go our and use your talents this week, bless the lives of all those around you! Know that I love you all and that I pray for you!!

Love,

Sister Bice

Service... Service... SERVICE!!!‏

Dear Family and Friends!!

     This week was a week of service! We did so much service!! We also had interviews with President Rehm... That was an interesting experience because we had to drive there in the middle of a flash flood. I was a little scared for my life and a lot a bit grateful that I wasn't the one driving the car!! Then of course we had a really fun community service project this week over at a place called the 'slash pit' in Black Forrest. So, if you are like me at all then you are probably wondering right now what in the world a slash pit is..... I thought it sounded really rather scary. But, no worries it is not scary at all. All that it is, is a place where people can bring their mitigation stuff and other branches they have cut off their trees. This place takes it for free and then turns all these branches and ground cover into mulch. So, our job in all this was to help people unload their cars. We got to talk with a lot of people and had a lot of fun! In fact, Sister Perrin and I may or may not have gotten into a soot fight so both of our faces were covered in ash!

      It was so good! We also had a chance to teach the Plan of Salvation to one of our new investigators this week. It was a wonderful lesson, he is a good kid and he has his answer. The only thing holding him back now is that he wants to finish the Book of Mormon before he gets baptized. So, he is thinking he will be baptized in December. We will see though, in August he goes to college and I worry that without that constant companionship of the spirit then he will be so much more vulnerable to the temptations that Satan will throw at him.

      Yesterday, I was reading in Preach My Gospel in the lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and I was under the heading of repentance and there was a sentence that caught my eye. It said simply "Repentance includes forming a fresh view of God, ourselves, and the world." I really like this because just earlier in the chapter it talks about how we need to repent everyday. So, essentially everyday we should be gaining a new and fresh view on God, ourselves and the world. I find that it is easy to let guilt build and weigh on my spirit until the view I have of myself isn't a very nice one. However, if we repent everyday then we will be continually be gaining a new view of ourselves and of those around us. As we do that we develop Charity for ourselves and those around us.

        I know that on my mission I have looked at those around me with a completly new view. I find it crazy that by drawing closer to the Lord and serving and loving him with all of our heart then we are able to develop a new view of not only ourselves but of those we come in contact with each day. I know this to be true because I have seen it take effect in my own life. I know that God loves us and that he is watching over us. I hope you all keep that in mind and know that I love you and that I am praying for you:)

Love,

Sister Bice

Dear Family and Friends

Dear Family and Friends,

      So, this week we mostly did a lot of service! Which mostly consisted of pulling weeds for people. I didn't know this but pulling weeds can make you really sore when you do it consistently for 4 or 5 hours.... Either that, or I'm super out of shape.. I wouldn't be surprised if both were true. But, It was a really good week. Which, I say every week. Honestly though, even on the tough weeks I don't know that a week spent fully on serving the Lord could be a bad one. We were able to teach a lot which is always good:)

       I find it funny though, often on the best weeks I have the hardest time figuring out what to write about in these letters!! Unfortunately, our investigator hasn't set a new baptism date. She has been having problems that don't have anything to do with the church that are just proving to be set backs. It makes me sad but, I know that her testimony is sincere and as long as she holds onto the teachings of the church then she will be baptized. Maybe not this week or even while I am still in this area. But, it will happen. In fact, Sister Rehm (our new mission presidents wife) talked about her conversion and how it took her a really long time and a lot of missionaries before she was baptized. It wasn't because she didn't believe it, it was purely because she didn't know how to tell her parents about her baptism. So, I know that if it is not her time now to be baptized then her time will still come:).

       Other than that I'm not sure I have many other exciting updates, but I will leave you with a scripture. So, this week seems to have been a theme of things, I think Heavenly Father is trying to tell me something. But, recently as I have been reading the scriptures I have noticed how often when it talks about battle it talks about them going to battle in the strength of the Lord. Even yesterday at church all the talks were on how we can have courage through trials. This morning I was reading in Numbers and I usually find it really confusing... And still do but in chapter 14 verse 9 there was a part that caught my eye cause it goes along with this theme. "Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us; their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not" Also in Mormon chapter 2 the end of verse 26 "... Nevertheless  the strength of the Lord was not with us; yea, we were left to ourselves, that the Spirit of the Lord did not abide in us; therefore we had become weak like unto our brethren."

       So, I believe I mentioned already but last week was kind of rough for me. Somethings happened that just caused me to think 'why me? My whole mission I have worked hard to be so obedient and be a good missionary and person. So, why do I have to go through this trial?' But, as I have been studying this week I have realized that if we are obedient and doing our best and constantly drawing closer to the Lord then there is no trial that we go through that he is not with us every step of the way for. No matter what if we are following Him then every trial we face we face with him by our side. There is no trial or pain that we can suffer that Christ has not already suffered on our behalf. HE and only He knows our exact pain and exactly what we are feeling. We can always turn to him to help us and to heal us. This is something that I know to be true!

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!!

Love,

Sister Bice

My 2nd Fourth of July!!‏

Krista Bice

7/07/14

To: Prudence Bice

Dear family and friends,

      Can I just say that nothing makes you feel more mission old than realizing that you are spending your 2nd and last fourth of July out? It's weird being in almost the same place at the same times as you were a year ago. This year I also got to march in the parade in Monument and I realized that it was complete role reversal. Just last year I was serving in this same stake and we took the Meridian ward sisters to the parade and I was serving in 15th ward this year was the exact opposite... This year I am in the Meridian ward and we drove the 15th ward sister to the parade.... It was so odd... But, it was good! We marched in the parade and then we got to go barbecue that night with some members and their neighbors.
       We also had a really good lesson with a new investigator this week. He is a youth and has been coming to activities forever and so we finally got one of his friends to invite him to take the lessons. So, this week was the first time we were able to teach him and he told us that as he was reading the Book of Mormon on his BREAK at work he had the thought come to him that no one could have just fictitiously created this book. He hasn't really gone to any church since he was probably 5 so he doesn't have much knowledge of the bible at all so it is interesting teaching him because we have to remember to check for his understanding. But, he is a super nice kid:)

        Also this week we got to meet our new mission president and his wife and they are so sweet! I'm really excited to work with them:) It will be so much fun even if it is a bit short lived. I'm glad that I will get to know them a  bit before I leave. So all in all it was a pretty good week. It had it's difficult moments but in the end it went further to show me the Lord is very aware of me and my personal struggles. It also showed me how much I have changed since I have come out on my mission. I guess I hadn't really thought about it before this week.... But, I have changes a lot more than I am prone to think I have. If nothing else I have come to realize that I can rely on the Lord in all situations no matter how hard they may be.

       This week I have pondered the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 84:88 "An whoso reciveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." Honestly, this week I have truly felt like I have been carried to be able to do things I would have though beyond my strength to do. I know that this is true for everyone. God never leaves us alone. He says so many times in the scriptures that his arms of mercy are extended toward us. That is true no matter who or where we are or have been. He is always wanting us to make it back home. He is always wanting to be there to strengthen and comfort us. We just have to let him. I love you all and hope you have a good week!

Love,

Sister Bice