tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45244665906785827532024-03-05T16:10:17.666-08:00Georgia Atlanta North MissionAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-48905991117759376382016-01-25T15:01:00.002-08:002016-05-09T15:57:10.603-07:00January 25, 2016 - John's Creek <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">It snowed this week! It was really really cold too, but the past couple days it got warmer. Besides that I have a few updates on our investigators on date to be baptized. So V will not be getting baptized on the 30th because she has some <a href="https://www.mormon.org/faq/topic/health?gclid=Cj0KEQiArJe1BRDe_uz1uu-QjvYBEiQACUj6og1EAdH4L635syrvxxbYyRLb6bkUnbsDZ8YaQOVslZwaAogK8P8HAQ&cid=33691011&s_kwcid=AL!3737!3!83228635455!e!!g!!word%20of%20wisdom&ef_id=VqP4zwAAAIPZTzB1:20160125225524:s" target="_blank">Word of Wisdom</a> concerns that we will be working on, but that's ok! J, our other investigator who really wants to be baptized has gotten really really sick and so we haven't been able to meet with her or discuss her baptism....so as of right now our investigators will be baptized sometime in the future. Haha :) </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">When we went over this week to one of our investigator's house to paint she asked us a lot of great spiritual questions, but the highlight was when she said, "You want to know how God has been working on this house?" and then proceeded to tell us about one day when she walked into the house and found her son reading the <a href="https://discover.mormon.org/en-us/topics/the-book-of-mormon/?gclid=Cj0KEQiArJe1BRDe_uz1uu-QjvYBEiQACUj6ovSsWYyTV4clEFIGL7Xtjdj2ayMBhcYLTDTmNmLGK6IaAjp08P8HAQ&cid=99115150&s_kwcid=AL!3737!3!82543322535!e!!g!!book%20of%20mormon&ef_id=VqP4zwAAAIPZTzB1:20160125225624:s" target="_blank">Book of Mormon</a>. Her son is not really into religion so when she saw him reading it she was shocked! She said, "Jesus has really been working on my son." Haha. Apparently after reading the <a href="https://discover.mormon.org/en-us/topics/the-book-of-mormon/?gclid=Cj0KEQiArJe1BRDe_uz1uu-QjvYBEiQACUj6ovSsWYyTV4clEFIGL7Xtjdj2ayMBhcYLTDTmNmLGK6IaAjp08P8HAQ&cid=99115150&s_kwcid=AL!3737!3!82543322535!e!!g!!book%20of%20mormon&ef_id=VqP4zwAAAIPZTzB1:20160125225624:s" target="_blank">Book of Mormon</a> he had a lot of really good questions and what added to our joy was knowing that not only her son was reading the <a href="https://discover.mormon.org/en-us/topics/the-book-of-mormon/?gclid=Cj0KEQiArJe1BRDe_uz1uu-QjvYBEiQACUj6ovSsWYyTV4clEFIGL7Xtjdj2ayMBhcYLTDTmNmLGK6IaAjp08P8HAQ&cid=99115150&s_kwcid=AL!3737!3!82543322535!e!!g!!book%20of%20mormon&ef_id=VqP4zwAAAIPZTzB1:20160125225624:s" target="_blank">Book of Mormon</a>, but that she has been reading it as well. God works in mysterious ways. When I think about this particular investigator and everything that she's been through I can't help but remember <a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/32.6?lang=eng" target="_blank">Alma 32:6</a>, "And now when Alma heard this, he turned him about, his face immediately towards him, and he beheld with great joy; for he beheld that their afflictions had truly humbled them, and that they were in a preparation to hear the word."</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's kind of weird having about a week left.... I feel at peace, knowing that everything is going to be ok and I'm excited because I know that there will be opportunities to continue to share the gospel and opportunities to experience new joy, and not to mention I get to see all of y'all! But it's weird, and kind of sad leaving. Either way I know that Heavenly Father loves me and has a plan for me. Sometimes moving on is hard. Sometimes fear can get in the way of a bright future, and I've seen that happen with a lot of missionaries who go home, but I can testify that with the Spirit</span>,<span style="font-size: small;"> fear/sorrow is replaced with peace and when we take a step forward on the path of our Savior there are opportunities to experience new and glorious light. I believe that that's what the Savior and His teachings, or the gospel, does for those who follow Him and live His gospel, it creates new hope.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">I love y'all sooooooo much-ooooooo!!!!!!!! Remember that y'all are <span style="text-decoration: underline;">always</span> in my prayers.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Lots of Love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Sister Megan Rice</span><br />
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Love these ladies!</div>
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How cute!</div>
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Superheroes by night! </div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-57847637453419560952016-01-23T13:59:00.000-08:002016-03-31T11:35:30.324-07:00January 19, 2016 - John's Creek <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This week there were really good moments and really slow moments haha. We've been trying to keep the balance between our teaching and finding pools right now since the majority of our investigators will be baptized soon and so we've been knocking on a lot of doors and trying a lot of potential/former investigators. Unfortunately the majority of them have not been interested or at home thus making some days drag on f.o.r.e.v.e.r. haha, but(!) we're focusing on the good things in life and holding on. :)</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Well to start off, this week, we gave a ninety year old lady a bath haha. She kept talking about how no one helps her clean herself and how she always feels dirty to which she added that her grandson would be coming the next day and so we offered to clean her feet, and that turned into her legs which turned into her whole top half haha. It was nothing new for me because I've bathed elderly people before but I'll admit it was kind of funny seeing my companion freak out a little, and then watch as she squared her shoulders, so to speak, and then got to work. Haha What made this situation even better is the fact that this lady can talk! We literally have to walk out of the house before she stops talking, haha, and I love her for that! </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">After that notable experience we had another lesson with the awesome less-active family that's returning to activity (with the son that's going to be baptized) and this time the lesson went a lot better. Towards the end the son started having problems participating again, but the experience, as a whole, was so good because you could literally see the difference in this family. They were so happy and the father has totally softened up! Haha </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">A little while before I got here the Sisters received a referral from the mission office. The referral specifically requested that service be given for a husband and wife. The Sisters had helped them a couple of times before I came to John's Creek and when I got here our service became a regular thing. Over time we've became really close and every time we went over we would leave spiritual messages, but we'd never invited her to learn the lessons. Looking back I realize how foolish that was and have since repented for not inviting her, but this past week we finally did it and her response was really good. She said that she would love to take the lessons as soon as she has her feet more planted. Right before we left we gave her a copy of the <a href="https://discover.mormon.org/en-us/topics/the-book-of-mormon/?gclid=Cj0KEQiA5oy1BRDQh6Wd572hsfkBEiQAfdTPCtjPr7-YYF1-FTewY095FTawSpMJhMssXnCquaCUaO8aAjm_8P8HAQ&cid=99115150&s_kwcid=AL!3737!3!82543322535!e!!g!!book%20of%20mormon&ef_id=VqP4zwAAAIPZTzB1:20160123220359:s" target="_blank">Book of Mormon</a> and invited her to read it, to which she thanked us and said she would and then we left. The next morning we got a text from her saying, "I have read several chapters in your book...Beatitudes....wow....<wbr></wbr>Thanks again for the book. I like that it's concise.". We were so excited and happy!!</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">After serving with the above mentioned wonderful lady haha, we had a great lesson with an awesome less-active/part-member family. A little while ago the member said that he was worried because he couldn't feel the Spirit anymore so we've been purposefully teaching spirit packed lessons, such as role playing the first lesson and then teaching the <a href="https://discover.mormon.org/en-us/topics/following-god/?gclid=Cj0KEQiA5oy1BRDQh6Wd572hsfkBEiQAfdTPCna0znTA6tOOls7fqIzwqHg6SPf8aI5mXAA9Fj7AQB4aAtN28P8HAQ&cid=99114231&s_kwcid=AL!3737!3!82643651175!p!!g!!plan%20of%20salvation&ef_id=VqP4zwAAAIPZTzB1:20160123220446:s" target="_blank">Plan of Salvation</a> (our next lesson will be the Gospel of Jesus Christ). After our lesson we paused and then asked him what he felt. I will never forget the moment when he told us, kind of excitedly, that he felt the Spirit during specific points in our lessons. As we talked more about this and testified of God's love for him the Spirit hit so strong. It was a really powerful experience. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_2103783141" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Sunday</span></span> night we were at the Stake President's house for dinner. (This is the same Stake President who went to my High School and I love them so much! Haha) After dinner and the spiritual message we were surprised to find that the Stake President started asking us about one of the family of investigators we're teaching. Next thing we knew he started mentioning the things that they could do to help, which then turned into a discussion, which then turned into a group effort to help this family in their progression towards conversion and baptism. It was great! What made it even better was that a member of the Bishopric was there and he was asked by the Stake President to take these ideas and plans of action to the Bishopric! It was a great feeling being able to work together as a team to help this family. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">We had a super powerful Zone Conference this past week which gave all of us, especially Sister H and I, a re-boost in our efforts as missionaries. It was just the boost we needed to get all fired up again and so we've been going the extra mile and more haha and although we haven't seen a lot of success knocking on doors we had a really good pass-off lesson with a YSA investigator (pass-off/transition lessons are lessons in which the missionaries pass off an investigator to the new missionaries that will be teaching them during a lesson). Towards the end of the lesson we invited him again if he would be baptized and the spirit was strong. I will never forget that moment when he looked at us and said so unwaveringly, "yes". It was powerful.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">There's one more miracle I want to mention and it's one that happened today. We decided to go out to lunch with one of the members in our Ward and afterwards she payed for all of our groceries....it was such a blessing to us...in more ways than can be understood and I wonder if she knew just how much what she did meant to us. I can definitely testify that there are angels all around us. They are the ones that help those in need and love, in every sense of the word, without condition. I'm so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who helps His children through others and I know that those who give of themselves for others are blessed. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Life is full of twists and turns; opportunities to fall, get back up or stay there, eventually move forward, and repeat. I'm so grateful for these moments because really they're opportunities to grow and if founded upon the gospel of Jesus Christ they are opportunities to grow on the path of our Savior. That's what the gospel of Jesus Christ is to me, a pattern of good growth that lasts the rest of our lives. I love y'all sooooo much-ooooooooo!!!!!!! Remember that y'all are always in my prayers.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Lots of Love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sister Megan Rice</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Matching! </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-72124918922923284612016-01-13T13:36:00.003-08:002016-03-31T11:35:38.006-07:00January 11, 2016 - John's Creek <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This past week has been a great one and all of the greatness all kind of built up <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1057002026" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">on Saturday</span></span> and <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1057002027" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Sunday</span></span>! <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1057002028" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Saturday</span></span> morning we found out that one of the less-active members we visit was in the Hospital. We made sure to visit her that morning and we ended up having a really good lesson with her. For the first time she opened up to us about her concerns with Church and we had a really powerful lesson.....All I can say is that I am so grateful for the companionship of the Holy Ghost that can bring moments and experiences we've had back to our memory. After the Hospital we had a really great lunch at this cute little breakfast place called, "Egg Harbor Cafe" - it was sooo good!! One of the other cool things about that place was that one of the workers there introduced himself as one of the non-member cousins of a member in the Webb Bridge Ward! Which was kind of cool because I knew the Ward members he was talking about. :)</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Although we weren't able to meet with our investigator, J, this week she came to Church <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1057002029" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">on Sunday</span></span> and she said that she wants to be baptized before I go home!! I was so happy when I heard that! Please, keep her in y'alls prayers along with V. :) Speaking of Church, sacrament meeting <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1057002030" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">this Sunday</span></span> was AH-mazing!! It was all about the Restoration, both literal and personal and the Spirit was so strong which was great because we had two investigators there, two less-active families, and three non-member husbands there! It was great! </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1057002031" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Saturday</span></span> night we had dinner with an awesome less-active family who we've been meeting with for a while. For the longest time we've been trying to get them back to Church, but there have been a lot of concerns/feelings of guilt. Well they've wanted their 8 year old son to be baptized for a while now and they planned on having him baptized in Utah with their family during Christmas time, but he wasn't because they had to receive permission from our Bishop and the reason they didn't receive the "OK" for the baptism was because they haven't been coming to Church. So they had a really good conversation with the Bishop before they left and now we have an awesome plan set up by the Bishop and the family to help the family come back to Church, have the Priesthood restored to them, reunite their </span><span style="font-size: small;">eternal</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">relationships, and have the father baptize their son and it's brilliant! They'll come to Church every week for a month and we'll be teaching them the lessons every week! </span><span style="font-size: small;">Well, <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1057002032" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Saturday</span></span> night was our first lesson with them and the son was really struggling because he's shy and doesn't like to be put on the spot, but then the dad started teaching him and helping him! Although it wasn't necessarily a good lesson because the kid was having a hard time it turned out to be great because this was the first time we had seen the dad get involved in our meetings with them and he did a really good job teaching too! After the lesson, as we sat down for dinner the son warmed up to us and when we finished dinner the father really opened up to us for the first time. At one point he said, "It was so hard when I realized that I couldn't bless my own son when he was born and now I have an opportunity to baptize him. I never dreamed that this was possible."</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">There have been specific moments that I can remember on my mission when I have felt such an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for the blessings of the Priesthood in my family and in our home. This was one of those moments. One of the things I've gained on my mission has been a firm appreciation and love for the Priesthood. I've realized that I don't want my family to grow up in a home where they didn't have the blessings of the priesthood; blessings of healing, comfort, and protection. <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1057002033" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">This Sunday</span></span> when I saw this family at Church they were glowing. They were so happy to be back. </span><span style="font-size: small;">I am so grateful for my mission because I've realized just how much of a precious gift the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is; to live in this day and age where we have the blessing of the fullness of His teachings and gospel. On my mission I have seen people in the darkest places turn to the greatest light; the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind. I have literally seen light enter into people's eyes and countenances and I have felt the testimonies of those who once were lost come back. To be apart of the Savior's restored Church in these last days is one of the greatest blessings to me. I love my Savior. I love His teachings and gospel. He is the way, the only way and through His teachings and His church each of us are given the necessary tools (</span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.lds.org/topics/atonement-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng" target="_blank">His Atonement</a></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">, </span><span style="font-size: small;">the gift of His Spirit, continued revelation, binding power and authority, and so forth) to follow Him on the path back home. As members of the Lord's Church in these last days we do not earn our way into Heaven, we learn the way of heaven. I testify that He lives and leads this Church and I've come to know of these truths by His Spirit. I love y'all soooooooo much-oooooooo!!!!! Remember, y'all are <span style="text-decoration: underline;">always</span> in my prayers.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Lots of Love (From Your Favorite Sister Missionary),</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sister Megan Rice</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sister H!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-80774529665673059782016-01-13T13:28:00.000-08:002016-03-31T11:35:45.492-07:00January 4, 2016 - John's Creek <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Happy New Year!! I pray that y'all had a great time reviewing this past year and looking forward to the new one. :) Our New Year was pretty great! We visited a lot of people and had a lot of great moments/miracles. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Do y'all remember the referrals that we received from a member in our Ward? The ones where we did the living Christmas Card and they took a picture of us? Well, we got back in with them and the member was with us - it was so great! :) The member was totally persistent and bold; talk about not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ! Well as we were teaching her she said that she would like to learn more and come to Church, but that she felt an obligation to her older Sister to stay in her Sister's Church. Towards the end of our lesson she and her husband softened and it was all because of our combined efforts; both member and missionary. With our testimonies, boldness, and persistence their hearts were softened and at the end they said that they would come to church sometime and that she would come with us to our service opportunities at the assisted living center. I have no doubt that their hearts will be continually softened.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">On Saturday morning we had a really good lesson with J, one of our investigators. We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ with an awesome member present who has a powerful testimony. We both felt prompted to invite her to pray about baptism and she did. This time she was totally ready for it! We showed her the baptismal fount and she started planning her baptism! Say whaaaa??! Haha She's not on date yet, because she has to talk to a few members from different Wards to see when they have time available to speak at her baptism haha, but besides that we are very excited for her! </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">An update on V: We weren't able to visit her this week because she was busy with the holidays, but we'll see her again soon. She's still on date for <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_2072416482" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">January 30</span></span>, so please continue to keep her in your prayers</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> There are so many good things to look forward to in the coming weeks! </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">I've re-learned recently a principle that can be found in <a href="https://www.lds.org/manual/preach-my-gospel-a-guide-to-missionary-service/lesson-2-the-plan-of-salvation?lang=eng" target="_blank">Preach My Gospel, "God’s whole purpose--His work and His glory--is to enable each of us to enjoy all His blessings....to find peace in this life and a fulness of joy..."</a>(pg.48). I've come to learn from my experiences that as humans we are creatures of habit, or in other words we creat patterns/cycles. What I've discovered about the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that it breaks those cycles that are harmful to us, a couple examples are addiction, or mistakes we make over and over again. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Through Christ and His teachings, the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are literally given a second chance</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">,</span><span style="font-size: small;"> a fresh start to break the harmful cycles and it all starts with faith in Jesus Christ which leads to change/repentance, which leads to a desire to make covenants/promises, which leads to the gift of the Spirit, which helps us endure and thus begins a new cycle in our lives. This is the way. Living the gospel of Jesus Christ is actively taking steps that lead us on the path of </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">the </span><span style="font-size: small;">Savior, the path that leads us home to our Heavenly Family. This life is a time for us to have joy; joy in our Savior, joy in our experiences and it's through the Savior and His Gospel that we do it. It's most definitely not always easy or joyful, but I've learned recently that every experience we have on this earth ca</span><span style="font-size: small;">n be turned to</span><span style="font-size: small;"> good, even when we make a mistake. Our Heavenly Father and our Savior love us. That's why they gave us this opportunity to grow. They know us. Jesus Christ descended below it all so that He could perfectly understand all of our pain, sorrow, sin, heartache, you name it. He is our Savior and He wants us back home. Remember, y'all are <span style="text-decoration: underline;">always</span> in my prayers. I love y'all soooo much-oooooooo!!!!! </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Lots of Love (From your Favorite Sister Missionary),</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sister Megan Rice</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-72825332120694610072016-01-13T13:18:00.000-08:002016-03-31T11:35:53.837-07:00December 28, 2015 - John's Creek<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It was soooo good to see y'all on Christmas! It's kind of crazy that I'll see y'all again soon and I can't wait! :) Though, like y'all have expressed I have a great work to do here; His work, and I'm super pumped to do it! Now's the time to finish strong! :) Sometimes the weeks and days just kind of blur together and well this week, just like the past few weeks have been doing exactly that; zooming past in a blur. Besides the wonderful highlight of Skype-ing with y'all on Christmas Day another highlight occurred yesterday when we visited a less-active member who has concerns about the Word of Wisdom. It had been a little while since we had met with him because we knew the Elders had been meeting with him every week and we didn't want to push him away with tons of visits. Well when we started talking with him he opened up a lot and by the end we invited/challenged him to fast. At first he was a little hesitant and then we said that we would fast with him and gave him a lot of encouragement. By the end he accepted the invitation and we promised him that the moment he fasted he would be given the strength to overcome any and all temptations that he has. He also said that he'll be coming to Church this Sunday, which will be great since we know he can come to Church now since it starts at <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1984615415" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">1:30</span></span> starting next Sunday. It will be great to see how everything goes on Sunday when we fast together and he comes to Church! </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Besides that awesome miracle, we've been getting rides from members and walking A LOT! Five week months are always hard because usually by the end we run out of miles....all I can say is this...the struggle is real haha. :) On the plus side we've been getting good work outs and have been having tender mercies with members and rides. :) One such tender mercy happened after we walked for an hour and a half (about 2.8 miles) haha. We were visiting a less-active part-member’s home and having a really good lesson with them when they discovered that we had walked there and didn't have a dinner that night haha. They immediately took us out to get food and then drove us home afterwards - talk about a tender mercy!</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Oh! And I just remembered another cool tender mercy of the week! It was the night before Christmas Eve and we were eating dinner with the Stake President, his family, a couple members from the Ward, and a member's non-member wife. We knew that this particular member was going to be there and so we tailored our lesson around that fact. When <a href="https://www.lds.org/church/leader/jeffrey-r-holland?lang=eng" target="_blank">Elder Holland</a> was here he talked about leaving people with spiritual earthquakes when we teach. Well that night as we shared a message about the Savior and His gospel there was definitely a spiritual earthquake and by the end you could tell that everyone was touched by it. What was even cooler was that we could tell that we had gained the trust of the Stake President because he gave us two referrals without us even asking!</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>It just goes to show that when you put your trust in the Lord everything will work out and to me that's one of the greatest lessons I've learned on my mission; trust Him and everything will work out.</b> All in all its been a pretty good week and I can't wait to see what happens this upcoming week. Remember that y'all are always in my prayers. I love y'all soooooo much-oooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lots of Love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sister Megan Rice</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-28050767531777202982016-01-13T13:11:00.002-08:002016-03-31T11:36:02.896-07:00December 21, 2015 - John's Creek<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Soooo this week....I was bit by a dog lol...... When you come to Georgia, you discover that everyone and I mean everyone has a dog haha. Well, as Sister Missionaries you hear about stories where some poor Sister was bit by a dog and I'll admit I went through my mission thinking that maybe...just maybe I was going to make it without a scratch well that dream ended this week hahaha. We were on our way to a member's house and she warned us that their little shih-tzu likes to bite and about how they're worried about other people being around their dogs....well I just supposed that this dogs "biting" was similar to Brownie's nipping....so when we arrived in their home the dogs came over to us and I put my hand down for the dogs to smell me and the next thing I knew the little shih-tzu lunged for my hand which I took back immediately and then it proceeded to literally bite my foot ridiculously hard! Thank goodness we were doing service and I was wearing my tennis shoes because it wasn't able to break skin, but it sure did bruise me up - I've never realized how hard a small dog could bite.....especially since it was Brownie's size!! Haha it's definitely an experience to remember!</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">We've been doing a lot of living Christmas cards this past week, where we sing (my companion and I chose to sing harmony for "Away in a Manger"), share Luke 2 (the Savior's birth), and leave a prayer with specific blessings in it. Well....we've received a lot of referrals from this which is really good until the referrals didn't go so well hahah. So we did the living Christmas card for a member which then gave us three referrals in their neighborhood! We were super excited! </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">The first door we knocked on the Dad answered the door and wanted us to sing for his whole family, which was great, until we finished our song and they quickly rushed back into their house so that they wouldn't have to listen to our message anymore haha....strike one. The second door we knocked on a lady opened the door and her dogs came barking and rushing outside, which is nothing new for us, but she was kind of flustered and was also worried about waking up her husband who was getting some sleep before work....oops....so after helping her get the dogs back inside she quickly shut the door....strike two haha. The third door we knocked on they immediately said they weren't interested and then proceeded to shut the door....strike three. Fortunately my companion and I have been out long enough that it didn't affect us too bad, but it was still kind of disappointing for us. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">At this point you may be asking yourself, "Why is Sister Rice sharing something so disappointing with us?" Well....that's because after three strikes we had a pretty epic miracle! And to top it off it was with one of the families that closed the door....can you guess which one?? Hold on to that guess because I'm about to reveal it to you. :) So, that night we got a call from the same member that had given us the referrals. She explained that the husband of the lady with the dogs wanted us to come back and at first we were like, "Oh no. He probably wants us to come back so he can sternly tell us to never come back because we woke him up...", but then the member said that they wanted us to come back because they wanted to hear our message....sayyyy whaaaatttttt?? Haha They even set up a time that we could come back so that they would both be home and available! When we knocked on the door the husband opened the door and shook both of our hands with both hands and then proceeded to place us in front of their Christmas tree and then take our picture with his wife...twice! Haha it all happened so quickly! We were like, "What just happened?" Hahaha. As we sang for them they both got a little tear-y eyed and when we finished they said that we could come back anytime! Score!! It was great!! Also, we found out that the wife's aunt is actually a member! Cool right?!</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">It just goes to show that miracles are almost always preceded by a trial of faith, after all that's how it's been since the beginning of time down to this day. The greatest miracle of all creation happened over 2,000 years ago with the Savior's birth, life, death, and resurrection and I'm so grateful for this Christmas season which reminds me of the miracle that is our Savior and of the knowledge that miracles happen every day. I love y'all sooooooo much-oooooooo!!!!!! Remember that y'all are <span style="text-decoration: underline;">always</span>in my prayers!!! </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-56023326704426422702015-12-16T11:41:00.003-08:002016-03-31T11:36:13.349-07:00December 14, 2015 - John's Creek <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Soo.....y'all will never guess what happened this past week...drum roll please......<a href="https://www.lds.org/church/leader/jeffrey-r-holland?lang=eng" target="_blank">Elder Holland</a> came.....and spoke to not only the Sisters of Georgia, but the Georgia Atlanta and Georgia Atlanta North Missions.....and I shook his hand......it was AWESOME!! This past weekend was just a spiritual high! We had <a href="https://www.lds.org/church/leader/jeffrey-r-holland?lang=eng" target="_blank">Elder Holland</a> twice and then Stake Conference.....so much goodness! Also, Dad, I have to say that I love how you sent me that quote from <a href="https://www.lds.org/church/leader/jeffrey-r-holland?lang=eng" target="_blank">Elder Holland</a> because he totally said that at the fireside for women! Talk about following the Spirit! One of my favorite things that <a href="https://www.lds.org/church/leader/jeffrey-r-holland?lang=eng" target="_blank">Elder Holland</a> said at the Mission wide devotional was, "Your mission is the MTC for life." - soooo true!!! He talked about being converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ, speaking with power and authority that comes from the Spirit, and about how the greatest convert you can have from your mission is yourself. Though I have to say that one of the most memorable experiences was at the women's fireside when Elder Holland gave every women within the sound of his voice a blessing as if he were laying his hands upon our heads. The Spirit was ridiculously strong and I will never forget that moment. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Besides an epic spiritual high this past weekend we did a lot of service! At one point we were shoveling wood chips and spreading them around a less-active family's yard. It was great being able to work hard in the yard and I'm not gonna lie it totally reminded me of working outside back at home. It was a great feeling being able to work hard! (Besides working hard as a missionary of course haha) Another highlight of the week was putting V on a specific date to be baptized! It will be on either <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1296926579" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">January 30th</span></span> or sometime in February!! We're super excited!! Then she made us this special dessert/sweet bread from A which was super good! Oh! I forgot to mention that I saw a ton of members from my previous Ward at Stake Conference and it was so nice to see them again! One of the members said that we (yes, that means all of y'all ;) haha) have to come back to their home and spend some time with them in their cabin! Haha </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">I've heard quite often on my mission how <a href="https://www.lds.org/church/leader/jeffrey-r-holland?lang=eng" target="_blank">Elder Holland</a>'s mission has meant more to him than anyone. ever. and this past weekend I finally understood what<a href="https://www.lds.org/church/leader/jeffrey-r-holland?lang=eng" target="_blank"> Elder Holland</a> meant by this. He explained that every good thing that has happened in his life since his mission has been shaped by his mission. It reminded me of something very similar my Stake President told me right before I left for my mission and I know by the Spirit that it will be the same for me and everyone who chooses to serve a mission. So my message this week is simple; It will all work out. I love y'all soooooo much-ooooooooo!!!!!! Remember that y'all are <span style="text-decoration: underline;">always</span> in my prayers.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Lots of Love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sister Megan Rice</span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-84325966080437559562015-12-09T10:58:00.001-08:002016-03-31T11:36:23.716-07:00December 7, 2015 - John's Creek<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dearest family:</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">I love all of the miracles that y'all sent! Speaking of miracles we had a ton this week! So do y'all remember V? She is the investigator we taught in Webb Bridge and then she moved to John's Creek and then I came to John's Creek...well this past week we invited her to be baptized again and she said yes! Now she's praying about a day to be baptized!! Woot woot!! Please keep her in your prayers! When <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_695262970" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Saturday</span></span> rolled around it became a crazy day! In the morning we had the Ward Breakfast and to our surprise one of the less-active part-member families we work with came and they brought a friend! After they left the breakfast we taught an investigator at the Church and it was an awesome lesson! </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">As we finished and were about to go to our next appointment we noticed that we had three calls from Bishop. A little surprised we listened to the voicemail only to find that a different investigator had brought his friend to the Ward Breakfast!! So we literally ran back to the Church from our car and then took them both on a quick Church tour and by the end our investigator's friend expressed a great desire to come to Church! It was awesome! After the quick Church tour we rushed to our next appointment. It was an awesome lesson that really set the tone of our visits. After that awesome lesson we rushed home changed in service clothes and then off we went to Felice's to help her along with a member. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>As our time with F was coming to an end we had a really touching moment together and a ward member was able to give her a blessing. It was such a blessing to have the member there, for so many reasons! After F we rushed to our dinner appointment and because we were so rushed we didn't get the chance to change into our regular proselytingclothes so it was kind of funny when we showed up to dinner in our service clothes haha. Dinner turned out to be really good and by the end we were rushing to the home of the same less-active part member family that came to the Christmas Breakfast that morning. When we got there it turned out to be an awesome awesome awesome lesson! The returning less-active member got out his old scriptures and was so excited to read them again! Haha it was like watching a kid at Christmas! And that was our <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_695262971" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Saturday</span></span>! A day chalk-full of miracles and tender-mercies! <span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_695262972" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">On Sunday</span></span> we learned of a child of record that just recently showed up in our Ward Directory and were given specific direction to visit with him as soon as possible. What was interesting is that since Sister H and I have been together we have been led to a particular street multiple times. We found out that this particular child of record will be living on the same street! It will be interesting to see how things play out in the next two months. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">I just want to mention one more miracle before I finish. During the middle of the week we, last minute, felt that we should visit a less-active part-member family that had just gotten back from vacation. When we knocked on their door we surprised to find that the less-active sister let us right in. In a matter of moments we found out that her mother had just passed away. It was heart-breaking. We shared <i><a href="https://www.lds.org/youth/video/because-of-him?lang=eng" target="_blank">Because of Him</a></i> and testified of the healing power of the Savior, His miraculous conquer over death, and of Heavenly Father's wonderful plan of happiness. Our message was quick and the Spirit was strong. By the end she gave us both a big hug. As we left that night I felt so blessed to be given the opportunity to be guided by the Spirit to those who needed the Savior's love and light. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">One of my favorite things about being a missionary are the moments when you literally feel like an angel on the Lord's errand. It's one of the best feelings in the world. I have learned that there are angels both in Heaven and around us. Each one of us can be an angel when we are in the service of our Heavenly Father, to lift the hands that hang down and to mend the broken hearted. I'm so grateful to live in these times because I know that among such great darkness there is great light and we have been given the opportunity to share it; His light. <a href="https://www.lds.org/church/leader/thomas-s-monson?lang=eng" target="_blank">President Monson </a>said, </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">" My brothers and sisters, our opportunities to shine surround us each day, in whatever circumstance we find ourselves. As we follow the example of the Savior, ours will be the opportunity to be a light in the lives of others....To each of you, I say that you are a son or daughter of our Heavenly Father. You have come from His presence to live on this earth for a season, to reflect the Savior’s love and teachings, and to bravely let your light shine for all to see. When that season on earth has ended, if you have done your part, yours will be the glorious blessing of returning to live with Him forever. How reassuring are the Savior’s words: 'I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.' Of Him I testify. He is our Savior and Redeemer, our Advocate with the Father. He is our Exemplar and our strength. He is 'the light which shineth in darkness.' That each of us within the sound of my voice may pledge to follow Him, thus becoming a shining light to the world, is my prayer in His holy name, even Jesus Christ the Lord, amen." (October 2015 General Conference, "<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/be-an-example-and-a-light?lang=eng" target="_blank">Be an Example and a Light</a>"). </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Remember that y'all are <span style="text-decoration: underline;">always</span> in my prayers. I love y'all soooooo much-ooooooo!!!!! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Lots of Love (From Your Favorite Sister Missionary), </span><span style="font-size: small;">Sister Megan Rice</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">P.S. I love y'all oobledee gobbs!!! :)</span> (P's newly created word)</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-44638010020013069152015-12-01T11:36:00.000-08:002016-03-31T11:36:34.752-07:00November 30, 2015 - John's Creek<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Happy Belated-Thanksgiving Y'all!!! I'm so excited for W and her mission!! The pictures of Grandma's birthday that y'all sent were great!! It was so good to see everyone's smiling faces! :)</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Thanksgiving was great and oh so filling! First we went to the K's, a less-active part member family's, home for dinner and all of the food looked and smelled so good that we ate more than we should've, forgetting that we would be going to another member's home for second dinner! Hah! After the K's we had dinner with the R's, which was great because Brother R is in the YSA Bishopric and Sister R is the Stake Relief Society President which means we never get to see them in our Ward. Both dinners were soooo good!! For third dessert we went to another member's home, the C and that's where you received a picture of me. :) It was so fun to be at the C's home because so much of their family was there and you could just feel the love that they had for one another. It reminded me of how nice it is to be with family, especially during the holidays and it also reminded me of how wonderful it will be in the eternities when all of us can be together as one big family. :)</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The day after Thanksgiving we had interviews with President and then attended a Temple session....and let me just say....it was soooooooo wonderful!!! This was probably one of my favorite interviews with President because I felt so much love from him and I could tell as we were discussing plans for the future that he had my best interest at heart and that everything was going to work out. Being in the Temple again was sooo amazing!! I felt like my spiritual armor was recharged and ready for defense against the attacks of the Adversary. I literally felt like the adversary couldn't get to me because of the strength from the Temple - such a cool feeling! One of the neat tender mercies is that while we were in the Temple we were able to see Brother M for a brief moment and it was the best!! Brother M used to be in charge of the Institutes and Seminaries in northern Georgia and in the High Council while I was serving in Big Shanty. His office was in our church building and he taught our Institute class, so we often turned to him with questions, advice, and support. I have only received three blessings of comfort on my mission and two were given to me by Brother M. To kind of give y'all a glimpse of how awesome he, is many people say that he is one of the three Nephites haha and after reading President Boyd K. Packer's eulogy it reminded me of Brother M hands down. Now he's working in the Temple as the Recorder, so it was a huge tender mercy to be able to see him again and to top it all off to see him in the Temple.</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This week as were were leaving a member's home, the Re's, after delivering a Thanksgiving message Brother Re said with a smile, "Remember, when people are mean to you it only means satan is getting frustrated." I wish that someone had told me that when I first came out on my mission because after hearing that, this past week I feel like everything was put so clearly into perspective. </span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">To the future missionaries: a mission isn't easy, but it is so worth it. Once your name tag is placed on you in the MTC you begin training for your place on the front lines of battle in the War against good and evil. Remember that you are on the Lord's side and that you have been endowed with gifts, power, and protection from on high. Together with our brothers and sisters you stand side by side with the Savior of the World and because He never gave up, you too cannot give up. He will be your support and strength. Trust Him. This is not about you or me. It is about Heavenly Father, His work, and the love He has for His children. What it all comes down to is charity, the pure love of Christ. My prayer has been that our faith and hope may be renewed every day. If you and I can be filled with faith, hope, and His love then I promise that when the Savior comes again in His glory, "we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen." (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/moro/7.48?lang=eng" target="_blank">Moroni <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1588898727" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">7:48</span></span></a>).</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I love y'all soooooo much-ooooooooo!!!!!!!! Remember that y'all are always in my prayers!!</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Lots of Love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Sister Megan Rice</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">P.S. We had dinner with President Ernst (Stake President) and his family yesterday and we were finally able to talk about Esperanza and our home town Yorba Linda! It was awesome!! Also a new Christmas video came out yesterday! Y'all should check it out! Here's the link: </span><a href="http://christmas.mormon.org/" style="color: #1155cc; letter-spacing: 0px;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0433ff; letter-spacing: 0px;">Christmas.mormon.org</span></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> and the name of the video is <i>A Savior is Born </i>:) love y’all!!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tee hee :)</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-49970780490959166662015-11-30T12:36:00.000-08:002016-03-31T11:36:45.508-07:00November 23, 2015 - John's Creek <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This week we felt impressed that we should contact the members of our Ward and ask if we could share a Thanksgiving message and the response was so good! We taught so many people; members, both active and less-active, non-member family members, and now have a potential investigator! It's been so awesome! Besides that we did a lot of service this week and in one day we saw 11 cats! Which would've been pretty cool except for the fact that my companion is allergic to cats....dun dun dunn! It was crazy every home we went to had at least 3 cats and then at the end of the day we dusted a home with both cat fur and dog fur...my poor companion....bless her heart. Haha Toward the end of this week we were able to help F again and it was so good to be with her! She is such an example to me of strength and love for the Lord and His children. We also helped this awesome 90 year old member, Sister Hk, clean out her bird baths and that was great - she is a hoot! Haha </span><br />At the beginning of this past week we were a little surprised to see that only one family had signed up to feed us and that no one had signed up for this upcoming week. It was strange because usually we are fed every night in this area and last year families had signed up for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Thanksgiving a couple weeks in advance. Well we decided that because we didn't have any dinners we would eat dinner after we came home for the day (after <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1448936512" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">9pm</span></span>) so that we could have an extra hour to serve the Lord. As our week progressed however we noticed that a lot of members, both active and less- active, would randomly ask us if we had any dinners and then proceed to feed us. It was incredible to see how the Lord provided for our needs.<br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It reminds me of Matthew 6:28-32, "...Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:...Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you...</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?...for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">" and Luke 12:31-32,34, "...seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">...For where your treasure is, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">there will your heart be also</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">." I'm so thankful for His awareness of our needs. I'm thankful for eternal families and service. I'm thankful that we live in a day and age where we can enjoy the full blessings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm thankful for His love which guides us each day and I'm thankful for y'all. :) </span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I love y'all sooooooo much-oooooooo!!!!!!!!! Remember that y'all are always in my prayers.</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Lots of Love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Sister Megan Rice</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-9470137846375855982015-11-30T12:28:00.002-08:002016-03-31T11:37:05.109-07:00November 16, 2015 - John's Creek <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Saturday evening was an incredible night! We were trying to find people to teach because we didn't have any appointments planned and to be honest we weren't having much luck as we were trying less-actives, potential investigators, and former investigators and then something crazy happened...we left the car to try someone and when we came back and turned on the GPS there was an address that I had never seen before plugged into my GPS. When we looked up the address on our Area Book we found that the address was of a former investigator (one I had never seen/heard of), so we decided to try it. Now picture this...it's dark, we're talking non-stop (because that's what we do :) haha) as we're driving around the neighborhood, and we can't really see the numbers on the houses. After driving around in a circle we finally pin-point the house, but for some reason kept passing the house. After FOUR times of passing it haha we came back to the same stop sign. At this point we were about to give up and try someplace new, but felt we should try just one more time. As we drove back around for the fifth time we made it and as moments of silence passed by after knocking on the door we heard a voice say, "Who is it?" and we answered, "Missionaries!". Silence. Twice more they asked, "Who is it?" before finally opening the door. Two YSA aged young women opened the door surprised and then expressed that they were just talking about how they wanted to know more about God and strengthen their relationships with Him when we knocked on their door. It was seriously perfect timing. We taught them right then and there and invited them to ask God their questions before reading the Book of Mormon and then call us when they had tried it.<br />This morning as we were out and about we got a call from one of the young women. She was really excited to tell us that she had just tried what we had asked her to do and had received an answer. She said that she was shocked and happy all at the same time and stated that she was going to continue doing what she had done with all of her questions from now on. We were so happy for her! By the time she called us she had her schedule in and we were able to set up a return appointment and invited her to use not only the Book of Mormon to answer her questions, but both the Book of Mormon and the Bible. <span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">We are super excited to hear what happens next and look forward to teaching her this week! </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Besides that AWESOME miracle I just wanted to let y'all know that I love Sister H so much! We served around each other for five and a half months back in Kennesaw and she goes home a transfer after me. We are having a BLAST and I feel so blessed to be with her at this time. :) If there's anything that you remember from this email remember this: "...has the day of miracles ceased?...Behold I say unto, Nay..." (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/moro/7.36-37?lang=eng" target="_blank">Moroni 7:36-37</a>). God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Miracles do happen, every day and I feel so blessed to be able to witness them first-hand as I serve Him each day. I love y'all sooooooo much-oooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<wbr></wbr>! Remember that y'all are </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">always </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">in my prayers.</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Lots of Love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Sister Megan Rice</span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-38500963669843874482015-11-30T12:23:00.003-08:002016-03-31T11:35:15.378-07:00November 9, 2015 - John's Creek <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I love the quote from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_B._Wirthlin" target="_blank">Elder Wirthlin</a>, it's so comforting to know that everything will be made up for in the end. :) I'm so grateful for our Savior and His restored gospel that bind families together forever, even beyond the bands of death. Families are the building blocks of eternity. It makes me so happy to know that the family was able to gather together in comfort and unity. My prayers are with y'all.</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Happy Fall Y'all! This week it's been raining 'pitchforks and hammer handles' and they say that it'll continue to rain through next week. Everyone says that this winter is going to be a bad one and I have to admit that I believe them, because it never rained this much last Fall, but I'm excited for Winter time to come - the Christmas season is the BEST...especially when you're a missionary because you really get into "the reason for the season" and it's so much fun to share with others. I'm so grateful for our Savior!</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So this week we've had a lot of opportunities to sift through those who are ready and those who are not....aka we lost all of the new investigators we found, but that's ok! because we had some awesome miracles! It's funny...I've found that the miracles almost always happen at the end of the week - after being tried and tested. It's interesting how usually miracles happen after the trial of our faith (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/2?lang=eng" target="_blank">Ether 2-3</a>). Anywhooo..... </span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The first miracle I'd love to share is a continuation from last week. Previously I shared a miracle about a less-active part member family who of the two years that they've lived in Georgia have only had three visits from members of the Church and the third visit was us. Well we had set up a return appointment for this past Saturday to help them with service, but when we arrived we noticed that their dinning room table was set up very nicely for dinner and that the things they needed help with were already finished. They said, "We usually eat dinner at this time." And of course a little surprised we said, "Oh no! We hope we didn't come at a bad time?" To which they replied with a smile, "No, you didn't come at a bad time, we actually made extra. We would love if y'all would join us for dinner." It was so awesome! By the end we hadn't mentioned anything about coming to Church the member just automatically brought it up and we wound up having a really good conversation about it. Before we left he expressed desire to come back to Church - which was AWESOME!! </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">As Sunday rolled around and Sacrament meeting ended we saw the less-active member had stayed for the whole Sacrament Meeting and he had this great smile on his face! Afterwards we were texting him and he said that going to church was like being "awakened" - which was really cool since one of the speakers that he said really spoke to him was talking on choosing to keep the Sabbath Day holy. The speakers did outstanding jobs by the way!</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The second miracle we had that I wanted to share was with a new investigator named M. We taught her during the second hour of Church and instead of teaching her the whole first lesson we taught the first two bullet points: 1. God is Our Loving Heavenly Father and 2. The Gospel Blesses Families. By the end of our lesson as we were saying the closing prayer she started crying. When we finished she said, "You have no idea how much this means to me. The short time you've known me and you can already say you love me. There's people who have known me the whole 18 years of my life that can't even say that. Thank you." </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Everyone is a child of God. Relationships in this life are not perfect, but through the Savior and His teachings relationships can be built upon a sure foundation that will never break even though the World will. I love y'all soooooooooo much-oooooooooo!!!!!!!!!! <wbr></wbr>Remember that y'all are always in my prayers.</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Lots of Love (From your Favorite Sister Missionary),</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Sister Megan Rice</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">P.S. *Updates* My companion is being transferred to Big Shanty and she will be step training!!!! I'm soooo excited for her!!! I'll be staying in John's Creek and my new companion will be Sister H! I served around her in Big Shanty - she was in Kennesaw while I was in Big Shanty so we know each other pretty well. :)</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Oh! And there's one other experience I want to share with y'all. It's of a family that we've been teaching for a while now. Every time we teach them they have these awesome questions, but their questions/lessons although sincere sometimes border the line of bible bashing haha. If it wasn't for the real firm hope we see in them we might not come back. The last time we visited them however we could tell something had changed. They hadn't really read the <a href="https://discover.mormon.org/en-us/topics/the-book-of-mormon/?gclid=Cj0KEQiArJe1BRDe_uz1uu-QjvYBEiQACUj6ovB6QV08FkTvnt6GZWN8ZVKg9U3ofcXUVcAJdw6twFEaAsCO8P8HAQ&cid=99115149&s_kwcid=AL!3737!3!82543342455!e!!g!!book%20of%20mormon&ef_id=VqP4zwAAAIPZTzB1:20160125230547:s" target="_blank">Book of Mormon</a> and this time it kind of crossed the fine line of bashing. We set a timer on our phone before hand because we knew that their lessons usually go over time and that day we couldn't be late because we had another appointment right after. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">For the majority of the time we were with them they talked and we listened. When we finally were able to get a word in, we testified of the <a href="https://discover.mormon.org/en-us/topics/jesus-christ/?gclid=Cj0KEQiArJe1BRDe_uz1uu-QjvYBEiQACUj6opIJh5uuYI43DDtuJ8BKE3OPV3T9tJFEM4jDG0Wjz5MaAkcn8P8HAQ&cid=99114111&s_kwcid=AL!3737!3!82543116015!b!!g!!%2Bgospel%20%2Bjesus&ef_id=VqP4zwAAAIPZTzB1:20160125230704:s" target="_blank">restored gospel of Jesus Christ,</a> the <a href="https://discover.mormon.org/en-us/topics/the-book-of-mormon/?gclid=Cj0KEQiArJe1BRDe_uz1uu-QjvYBEiQACUj6ovB6QV08FkTvnt6GZWN8ZVKg9U3ofcXUVcAJdw6twFEaAsCO8P8HAQ&cid=99115149&s_kwcid=AL!3737!3!82543342455!e!!g!!book%20of%20mormon&ef_id=VqP4zwAAAIPZTzB1:20160125230547:s" target="_blank">Book of Mormon</a>, and shared our experiences of how we came to know that the <a href="https://discover.mormon.org/en-us/topics/the-book-of-mormon/?gclid=Cj0KEQiArJe1BRDe_uz1uu-QjvYBEiQACUj6ovB6QV08FkTvnt6GZWN8ZVKg9U3ofcXUVcAJdw6twFEaAsCO8P8HAQ&cid=99115149&s_kwcid=AL!3737!3!82543342455!e!!g!!book%20of%20mormon&ef_id=VqP4zwAAAIPZTzB1:20160125230547:s" target="_blank">Book of Mormon</a> is true. Silence fell and then the timer went off - perfect timing. When they spoke next their countenance changed. We left that day knowing that they could not deny the experiences we had. I will never forget an experience I had in my first area where a YSA girl named Mo, Bible bashed us for almost three hours and all we did was just listen. When she was finished and my companion and I could speak all we did was testify of the Savior, the <a href="https://www.mormon.org/beliefs/book-of-mormon" target="_blank">Book of Mormon</a>, and how we came to know it was true. Silence. She said, "I cannot deny the experiences you've had. I will have to look into his further." I will never forget that moment. When we bear testimony and share our experiences by the power of the <a href="https://www.lds.org/topics/holy-ghost?lang=eng" target="_blank">Holy Ghost</a> it cannot be denied. </span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-41629968036410348952015-11-06T18:41:00.003-08:002016-03-31T11:35:06.028-07:00November 2, 2015 - John's Creek <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I swear this Halloween was cursed or something....hahaha.....but really though. The night before Halloween we were really looking forward to a lesson we had the next morning with a new investigator. When Halloween morning rolled around however, it turned out to be a *I'm not interested in really learning or hearing what you have to say I just want to share what I believe and make you change your beliefs, because what you believe is incorrect* lesson. To say the least, we were happy to leave when it was all over. Haha Since we were at the bottom of our area and it was lunch time we decided to treat ourselves to a Halloween lunch out, especially after that lesson. When we started eating our food however my tooth chipped on the fork....ughhhhh........<wbr></wbr>fortunately, although it's a little pointy and rough, it's not really noticeable...thank goodness, and I'm sure with time the pointy edge will wear down. Besides that our day went kind of downhill from there haha...all of our lessons canceled and no one would open their doors, but! when we returned home (we had to be in by 5 unless we had a dinner and then we could return home by 6) we had an awesome weekly planning session and it was great! Besides Halloween we've seen a lot of rain and many miracles this week (it feels like Heavenly Father's blessing are being poured out upon us...literally hahaha)To give you an idea of the miracles we've seen I'll just say that we have about 7 new investigators and new less-active families to visit regularly! </span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">One of the cool tender mercies of this week has to do with a cat, who absolutely enjoys to eat purses haha. We felt that we needed to visit a returning less active member and with this particular member it's always a shot in the dark on whether or not she will be home. We knocked on her door and immediately the door swung open. She said, "Oh! I'm so glad y'all are here! Heavenly Father always sends you when I'm having a bad day." It was nice to know that we helped her. :) Little did I know that as we were talking and reading one of her favorite talks called, <i><a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/the-atonement-covers-all-pain?lang=eng" target="_blank">The Atonement Covers All Pain</a> </i>(which is a super great talk by the way!) one of the cats she was cat-sitting was eating/chewing up the leather strap on my bag!! I'll admit I was a little upset on the inside, but then the returning less-active said, "Oh! Hold on, I know just what you need!" and then left to another room. After a little while of waiting she returned with a mint condition antique coach bag for both me and my companion (antique coach bags range anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars...).....say whatttt??!! Haha Needless to say we were both very grateful to her!</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Yesterday we were in this golden apartment complex (where we found two new investigators, one right after the other) and while we were out and about we saw this lady bringing in her groceries from her car...in the rain. We went up to her and offered our help and when she kindly declined we explained who we are which in response she said, "I appreciate what y'all do but I'm actually happy in the Church I'm at." Which is one of the typical responses we get, but then she surprised us by opening up to us a little bit more. We testified of gospel truths and shared a message of peace. By the end she gave us both a hug and said, "Thank y'all so much, I really needed to hear that." It was such a great moment. :)</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The last tender mercy/miracle I want to share is of a less-active/part-member family. When we knocked on their door last night they opened the door kind of surprised but super friendly and immediately invited us into their home. We had a really good visit/spiritual message and by the end they said something that really hit me. The less-active said, "In the two years we've lived in Georgia y'all are the third visit we've had from anyone in the Church". In that moment my heart hurt. It made me wonder about just how many people there are in the Church, active or not, who don't receive the fellowship that they need and then I was reminded by the Spirit more forcefully this time that many of the less-active members are less-active simply because they don't have a friend and or feel alone. </span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Yesterday after Church, unlike what we usually do, we had to linger a little longer in the building in order to use the wifi. While we were fulfilling missionary responsibilities we overheard part of the testimony meeting of the Ward after us. The second testimony borne was from a less-active member who was coming to Church for the first time in years. She said that about a month ago the Sister Missionaries knocked on her door and she remembered telling them that she did not want any of the "spiritual stuff", but that right now all she needed was a friend. As she continued to share her story and testimony she again said that all of those years all she really needed was a friend. After a month of the missionaries coming over and just simply serving her and being her friend she was reminded of the blessings that come from living the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and had a desire to come back to Church. No matter who you are, where you come from, or what testimony you have everyone needs a friend. Sometimes through mortal weakness someone may be forgotten, but Heavenly Father will not and does not forget. I know that we heard her testimony for a reason. Although people are not perfect the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is and although this world will change, the restored gospel of Jesus Christ will not. I am so grateful for a firm foundation in these last days. I know my Savior lives and I know that this is His Church.</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I pray y'all have a blessed week. Remember y'all are </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">always</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> in my prayers. I love y'all sooooooo much-ooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Lots of love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Sister Megan Rice</span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-56211209842913870872015-10-27T19:57:00.001-07:002016-03-31T11:34:55.407-07:00October 26, 2015 - John's Creek <div style="font-family: helvetica, arial; font-size: 10pt;">
This week we went on exchanges and it was great! My companion stayed in our area with the Sister Training Leader and I went Spanish for a day with the Sister Training Leader's two companions. I always love going Spanish for a day because even though I can't understand what's being said I have more opportunity to listen to the Spirit and it's beautiful. One of the cool things about our exchanges is that we were in Alpharetta (my previous area) the whole day and we were able to teach the awesome/golden Hispanic people Sister C and I had referred over to the Spanish Sisters. </div>
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I have to tell y'all about one of the miracles we witnessed on exchanges. While in Alpharetta we taught this incredibly prepared Hispanic family! The husband said that he wasn't religious anymore because he knew that there was more truth than what he was raised in and that the truth was more important than following a culture. He said it never made sense to him that God reached out to His children in the Middle East, but not in the ancient Americas. He said that he knew God loved all of His children, including his ancestors that lived on the American continents thousands of years ago. When we taught him about the Book of Mormon and bore testimony of it he said that it just made sense. He knew that he had to read it and come to church and he said that because we were so sincere and passionate about what we shared he could tell that he needed to know for himself that this is true. It was an awesome experience and the Spirit was so strong!</div>
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Dad, I love the thoughts that you shared with me from the fireside; such awesome visuals!! I always love the thoughts you share - on life, the gospel, and you name it - they mean so much to me!! :) </div>
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Thank y'all for making my heart, "soar like an eagle" by being my Mom and Dad. I love y'all sooo much. :) So long ~ until next week. :)</div>
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I love y'all soooooooo much-oooooooooo!!!!!! Remember that y'all are <u>always</u> in my prayers.</div>
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Lots of Love (from your favorite Sister Missionary), </div>
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Sister Megan Rice</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Me & Sister B :)</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-86046983294312105392015-10-23T17:09:00.001-07:002016-03-31T11:34:44.056-07:00October 19, 2015 - John's Creek <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This week we've had a lot of really cool tender mercies and miracles. One of my favorite experiences occurred with a young girl about 8/9 years old. We were out and about in an apartment complex following up with potentials when this girl on her bike rode up to us. She started asking us all about who we are and etc. We talked about our purpose as missionaries and had a really good discussion about prophets. Then we stared talking about prayer and she stopped us and said, "Can you pray for my mom?" She then continued to express her love and concern for her mom and then proceeded to give us her Mom's phone number! We were both a bit surprised, to say the least. Haha. A couple days later, and I'll admit a little hesitant, we called her mom. To our surprise the call ended up going really well! She opened up to us a lot and said that we could come over and teach her whole family! Talk about a miracle!</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This past <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_2041726734" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Saturday</span></span> was the Ward Halloween Party and while there I got to know one of the elderly men in our Ward pretty well. He really opened up and I'm here to say that his story is incredible. He has been less-active for over 50 years and just recently came back. I asked him, "What brought you back?" He said, "For over 50 years my home teachers and my wife's visiting teachers never stopped coming. When my wife passed away a year and a half ago they were the ones who helped. They were there for me and even provided the chapel for her funeral. I had never stepped into the chapel before then." Just recently he has gone to the Temple for his endowment and was sealed to his wife. When he shared his story with me it reminded me of a time on my mission when a less-active member we had tried for so long finally let us in. I will never forget when she turned to my companion and I, gave us both a big hug and then said, "Thank you for not giving up on me." I am so grateful for a loving and living Heavenly Father and Savior who never give up on me, no matter how close or far away I wander from the safety of His fold and I know that that is not unique to me. I know He lives. He understands. Perfectly. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I love y'all sooooooooo much-oooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!! Remember that y'all are always in my prayers and that I pray y'all have a blessed week!</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Lots of love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Sister Megan Rice</span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-9939294363215461282015-10-13T20:16:00.005-07:002016-03-31T11:34:32.736-07:00October 13, 2015 - John's Creek<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">This week has felt like it has gone by in a blur! We did a lot of service this week and one of my favorite experiences was helping an incredible family who's been through a lot. They are not members of our Church</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">. </span><span style="font-size: small;">They</span><span style="font-size: small;"> heard about the missionaries from an LDS friend. About 2 years ago their new house flooded and destroyed everything and I mean everything. Right now their house is pretty much an empty shell. We've been able to help them clean and we just barely started painting! I have to admit that it reminds me a lot about the good ol' days when we would work on our home. :) This experience has been a testament to me that our experiences prepare us for the future and if we choose they can bless the lives of others. Besides that we've been staying busy visiting less-actives, former investigators, and etc. This morning we got back in with V again! </span><span style="font-size: small;">(She was a former investigator).</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">We had a member with us and it went super well. I was surprised to find that V remembered a lot of what we had taught her back in Webb Bridge which was comforting to know, because of the language barrier. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Recently I've found a lot of comfort and peace in <a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/23.21-24?lang=eng" target="_blank">Mosiah 23:21-24</a>, <a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/24?lang=eng" target="_blank">Mosiah 24</a>, and <a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/34.41?lang=eng" target="_blank">Alma 34:41</a>. We've been asked by our Mission President to study an attribute of Christ everyday for 30 minutes (15 minutes personal study, 15 minutes companion study). I always love studying the attributes of Christ in Preach My Gospel, but recently </span><span style="font-size: small;">the attribute of</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">patience stuck out to me a lot. Recently (in the past 5 months) I've had a lot of missionaries express that they don't feel successful because they work so hard and nothing happens and as I've been studying it really hit me; sometimes “</span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1995/10/patience-a-heavenly-virtue?lang=eng" target="_blank"><i>the heavenly virtue of patience is required</i></a></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">.” (President Monson). In <a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/26.28?lang=eng" target="_blank">Alma 26: 28-31</a> we learn that these ancient missionaries did a lot of the things that we do today. They, " traveled from house to house...and...entered into their houses and taught them...and...taught them in their streets...and...upon their hills." They were cast out, mocked, and so much more and yet they never gave up because they loved God, His children, and trusted in the promises He had made. </span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">"Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and <b>[the promise]</b> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">bear with <b>patience</b> thine afflictions, <b>and I will give unto you success</b>.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">" (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/26.27?lang=eng" target="_blank">Alma 26:27</a>) A scripture that has great significance to me states this, "And now my beloved brethren, I would exhort you to have </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">patience</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">, and that ye bear with all manner of afflictions; that ye do not revile against those who do cast you out...lest ye become sinners like unto them; </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">But that ye have <b>patience</b>, and bear with those afflictions, with a <b>firm hope</b> that ye shall one day <b>rest</b> from all your afflictions</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">." (<a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/34.40-41?lang=eng" target="_blank">Alma 34:40-41</a>). </span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This is another one of His many promises to us. I know He lives. This is His work and I thank Him everyday for giving me this opportunity to be apart of it in such a personal way. I know that life is full of many challenges and difficulties, but if we patiently hold to the promises and covenants that have been made by actively following Him (taking the sacrament, having scripture study, prayer, temple attendance, loving, and serving each step of the way), trusting Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, we can look towards the future with optimism and a brightness of hope. With <i>faith</i> in Christ, <i>hope</i> in His promises, and <i>love</i> towards God and His children nothing can stop us from reaching the full potential that our Father in Heaven sees in each of us.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I love y'all sooooooooo much-oooooooooooooo!!!!!!! Remember that y'all are </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">always</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> in my prayers, everyday. I pray y'all have a blessed week.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Lots of love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Sister Megan Rice</span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-68173145508038659242015-10-05T11:32:00.003-07:002016-03-31T11:34:13.886-07:00October 5, 2015 - John's Creek<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This transfer is going to be great! My companion is awesome and a delight to be around. :) John's Creek will probably be my last area, and I'll most likely have one more companion, but then again you never know what can happen. Webb Bridge and John's Creek are right next door to each other so I literally "hopped the fence" this transfer and it's great! This area has a really good feeling and I know that everything is going to work out and be ok. :) I just pray my next companion will be just as awesome! Do y'all remember the less-active family that I was kind of bold with and because of that they came to Church? Well... I moved to John's Creek <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_588114667" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">on Wednesday</span></span> morning and they followed me <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_588114668" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">on Thursday</span></span>! Hah! I don't know their new address...yet....but we plan on visiting them when we do have their new address. Another cool thing about this area is that the Stake President, President Ernst, (who is in our Ward here) grew up in Yorba Linda, worked at Disneyland, and graduated from Esperanza High School! His Sister is also a "semi" less active that I worked with from my first area, Lilburn, and is now currently living here!! So it feels like I have a piece of my first area and that is a tender mercy indeed....so many tender mercies from Heavenly Father!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Every 6 months General Conference feels like Christmas! I love it so much and am so grateful for the words that were shared on those days. We had a couple of cool miracles leading up to General Conference. So the first full day I was here we were tracting because the majority of our lessons fell through, which is totally fine, and the third door we knocked on this nice lady opened her door and let us in! Just.Like.That. :) After chatting a little we started teaching her the Restoration and towards the end her cousin walks in and sits in on our lesson. The Spirit was so strong! When it was over we learned that when these two cousins were younger that missionaries would often stop by their house and pray with them. S, the first lady we met said that she had always been searching for truth and her cousin, Shauna, said that she was so glad that she came when she did because she needed to have that "good feeling" in her life. It was awesome!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The other miracle has to do with a lady I taught in Webb Bridge. She speaks Russian and we almost had her on a specific date to be baptized in Webb Bridge when she moved to John's Creek...well....now I'm in John's Creek. :) haha so <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_588114669" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Sunday</span></span> morning we stopped by V's apartment because the Sisters had been having a hard time getting back in with her. When we knocked on the door V opened up and with a big smile let us in! We communicated a little bit and then we remembered that music and the spoken word would be starting soon so we put <a href="http://lds.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">LDS.org</a> on her computer and watched music and the spoken word with her in Russian. Several times she expressed how much she loved it! Right before General Conference started we invited her to continue to watch General Conference and then we left praying in our hearts that she would take up our invitation. Later that evening, during the <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_588114670" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Sunday</span></span> evening session V texted us asking what the name of the website was again because her daughter had accidentally closed out <a href="http://lds.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">LDS.org</a>. She said that she wanted to watch the second session! The awesome part is that not only did she contact us because she wanted to watch it, but we hadn't told her about the different sessions in General Conference because we were rushed....which means that she watched the full morning session <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_588114671" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">on Sunday</span></span> and must have heard them talk about he next session! It was awesome!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I loved what Elder Renlund said in General Conference, "<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/latter-day-saints-keep-on-trying?lang=eng" target="_blank">It's not about you. It's about the Lord, His work, and the love He has for His children.</a>" This is His work. I'm just an instrument in His hands and I pray that I may continue to be for as long as I live. I know He lives and I know He loves everyone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I pray that y'all have a blessed week!! Y'all are always in my prayers and remember that I love y'all soooooooooo much-oooooooooooo!!!!!!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Lots of love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sister Megan Rice</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> One of my favorite families from the Webb Bridge Ward; the Perry Family :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">New companion!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Being silly!</span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-4507679611460516642015-10-03T17:39:00.000-07:002016-03-31T11:37:36.719-07:00September 28, 2015 - Last of Web Bridge<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Y'alls email just brightened up this rainy week. Every week I look forward to reading what y'all write me. I haven't been very good, as of late, about my intake of sugar I will try to do better next transfer. Speaking of transfers...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Today we're running around crazy! I found out that I'm being transferred to John's Creek Wednesday morning and I actually went on exchanges with my new companion, her name is Sister B and she is from Utah. This week we had a lot of miracles one such miracle happened last Monday. We met an Indian man a little while ago and taught him for the first and last time last Monday night. His name is E and he will be returning to India for good next month. We had an incredible lesson with him. He wanted to know the truth so badly. I wish y'all could've seen the look on his face when we told him that there is a living Prophet on the Earth today. He was shocked and super excited all at the same time haha. :) By the end of our lesson he wanted a set of scriptures soo badly. When we told him that he could have a copy of the Book of Mormon for free he was shocked yet again haha. :) He said that he couldn't accept it free, but that he would have to pay for it so after a long discussion we all finally came up with the agreement that he would keep the Book of Mormon we would give him until he could order a full quad and receive it in the mail and then he would return the loaned Book of Mormon to local missionaries wherever he was. Haha talk about a dream come true. Anyway he said that when he finishes reading he Book of Mormon and prays about it then he will let us know. It was such an incredible experience and I feel blessed to be apart of it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Remember that y'all are always in my prayers. I love y'all soooooo much-oooooooooo!!!!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Lots of love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sister Megan Rice</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-14515318013719523222015-09-25T16:29:00.000-07:002016-03-31T11:37:47.044-07:00September 21, 2014 - Web Bridge<div style="color: #232323;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This morning we went hiking with all of the Sister Missionaries in our Zone and it was absolutely beautiful! It's starting to get cooler...thank goodness!! I'll be sending home packages soon either today (if I have time) or next Monday. Thank you for the love you send - it makes my heart soar (like an eagle). :) This week we were blessed with 1. Absolutely beautiful mornings 2. Opportunities to share testimony and 3. The moments of peace that come with revelation and confirmation from the Spirit. :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This week we've seen many tender mercies/miracles. Saturday morning our appointments fell through and our back-up plans ended up going by much quicker than we had planned, so we had a huge chunk of time open up. My companion and I decided to be a little creative and instead of tracting we decided to go contacting on the greenway. (The greenways are long cemented trail ways for bikers, runners, and walkers and they are all over Northern Georgia.) Before we left the car we prayed that Heavenly Father would lead us by the Spirit so that we could be His hands and witness miracles. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">As we walked through the greenway we decided that we would talk with everyone that we could and we did. After about 15 minutes we found a recent convert family from our Ward. We noticed that they were on the side of the trail way and that the Wife/Mother wasn't doing so well (and we know that she has some health issues, so we were a little concerned). After talking with them for a little while we were able to pray for and with them and shortly after they were able to get back up and continue biking. As we continued to walk and talk with people we gave a pass along card to a lady and her son. It turns out that the lady and her son are members of the church. They had just moved to Alpharetta and were wanting to know the time and location of the Wards in our area and we were able to help them with that. :) </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Towards the end of our time on the greenway the flow of people began to slow down and in the distance we saw a young woman in the walking towards our direction on he opposite of the path. And we both knew that we absolutely had to talk with her. As we got closer we noticed that she had headphones in and was looking down at her phone. When we were almost next to her she stopped before we could, took out her headphones and looked at us straight in the eyes. Then surprised she said, "Oh! Missionaries! Perfect timing." As we talked we found out that she's one of the young women in our Ward and that she was about to talk to a friend about the Gospel. She asked us for a pass-along card with our information on it and then off she went. We gave her the last pass-along card. Reflecting on that morning I remember how good it felt to be Heavenly Father's hands. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I want to share one more miracle before I end. This past week we finally got in with a very less-active family...twice! The second time we met with them I was kind of bold with them and invited their family to take the sacrament. After we left I remember feeling kind of sad, because sometimes it's hard to share things that may open up wounds for other people and I remember thinking, "I hope I didn't push them away from coming to Church", but at the same time I knew that I had a message to deliver and that I had to bear testimony of the blessings that come from living the gospel of Jesus Christ. Well Sunday rolled around and I thought I didn't see anyone that we had invited at sacrament. When sacrament meeting ended, however, I saw them; the less-active family. This particular family hadn't been back to church for years and they ended up staying the whole three hours! I couldn't believe it! I was so happy and what made my joy even better was seeing the smiles on their faces! I know they felt the renewed strength of the Spirit.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This week we didn't have the success that some missionaries think is success, but we brought a whole family back to church, were lead by the Spirit to help Heavenly Fathers children, and felt the joy and peace that comes from living the gospel joyfully and to me those are some of the greatest successes in His work. I know that God loves His children. Each child. This is His glorious work and I won't quit till I know that I have done all that the Father would have me do to bless His children here in Georgia. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Remember that I love y'all sooooooo much-oooooooooooooo!!!!!!!! Y'all are </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">always</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> in my prayers. I pray y'all have a blessed week. :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Lots of love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sister Megan Rice </span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-69052374083631828942015-09-25T16:27:00.003-07:002016-03-31T11:37:58.912-07:00September 14, 2014 - Web Bridge<div style="color: #232323;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I wish I could express just how much yalls emails and letters mean to me. They are rays of sunshine that add to the light in every week. :) I love the quote that were shared from Grandpa and especially your notes from the regional stake conference...wow....THAT WAS AWESOME!! I wish I could've heard what they had to say! </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm getting so excited and ready for General Conference. haha :) Also I love the picture of the crochet dress that Aunt B made. It is remarkable and so beautiful! You can really tell that she puts love and effort into her creations of art. She really has a talent! Thank you also for sending pictures of J and I, they are so beautiful! It warms my heart to see them. :) I can't believe how big they are!!</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This week we saw many miracles, one such miracle occurred last Thursday. The night before, during planning, my companion and I made an appointment with the Lord to be in specific areas at specific times. As we knelt down in prayer we told Him where we would be and when, we then asked Him to lead us to the people who were ready and vice versa. Well as Thursday afternoon rolled around we got a phone call from one of the members. She said that she couldn't remember if she had signed up for dinner that night and although it was last minute said that we were more than welcome to come. Because we didn't have a dinner that night we happily accepted. As soon as we hung up my companion and I realized that the time we were supposed to go to dinner was the time that we had set an appointment with the Lord. After pondering we both felt that we needed to stay in that area. So we called back the member and asked for a rain check. As we went to the area we were supposed to, at the time that we were supposed to, we ended up teaching someone new and now have a return appointment with not only the person that we taught, but with her whole family (which altogether totals to 6-7 people). Following the Spirit is so incredibly important, even when that means that it might offend someone. In the end everything worked out and that member brought us over some leftover soup this morning. :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I also wanted to share some thoughts on the importance of the sacrament. This past Sunday I was reminded, yet again, that the sacrament is the only ordinance that is performed for the same individual over and over again. I've learned that when we take the sacrament it not only renews the covenants made at baptism, but also </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">all</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> covenants made with the Lord including the ones made in the House of the Lord. Every week we have the opportunity to have the cleansing effect of baptism and confirmation through Christ's Atonement. As the world is growing darker and darker I am so grateful that Father in Heaven planned and prepared a way for His covenant children to gain renewed strength, protection, and power every week. The sacrament is a holy time. It is a time that requires reflection and preparation throughout the week and I am so grateful for loving parents who showed me the importance of the sacrament. I know that the sacrament is a gift from God.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Remember that I love yall sooooooooooooooooo much-oooooooooooooooo!!!! Yall are always in my prayers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Your favorite Sister Missionary, Megan Rice</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-45742546069254685102015-09-25T16:25:00.003-07:002016-03-31T11:38:10.608-07:00September 8, 2014 - Web Bridge<div style="color: #232323;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I can't believe that they've changed the Ward boundaries, our Ward back home must be growing! I remember the last Sunday in my first area on my mission. My last Sunday was the day that they showed the new boundaries for the Ward. It was kind of a crazy feeling to leave the Ward right before such big changes!! Now skipping forward to this area the Wards here, in Alpharetta, are bursting at the seams and will be split as soon as a new building is built. Change can be so crazy, but I'm grateful for change because it shows growth and an opportunity to become better. :) </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Also, I LOVE the quotes you send me every week!! Each week I look forward to the new quotes that you'll choose. It's nice being able to have the quotes on hand so that the Spirit can draw from my "spiritual well" of knowledge when we teach. :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's funny but I actually used the phrase, "Improvise, adapt, and overcome." this week. (Another one I like is "Accept, let go, move on. There is peace in moving forward.") It sounds like the Stake has a fun activity planned ahead! You'll have to take pictures for me so I can see all of the talent in our Stake. :) </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This week things have gotten a lot better. A little while back one of my close friends shared some wisdom from her mission. She said that everything that happens on a mission is designed for the individual missionary. Whether it's a difficult companionship, a rough area, overcoming the fear of failure, or whatever it might be every experience is designed to shape us into the individual that Father in Heaven knows we can become. As I have been learning and growing the past few weeks I've been reminded that this idea is true not just for missionary work but for our own individual lives. I have felt that this lesson is something that will help the people in this area. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I know that God hears our prayers and if we will listen we will come to see that Heavenly Father is eagerly communicating back to us. He loves us. He is in the details of our lives. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that He and our Father in Heaven want us all back home again someday. Remember that I love y'all soooooooooo much-oooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Y'all are </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">always </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">in my prayers; every day and every night. :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">PS: I just wanted to express a special thank you for all of the emails that y'all have been sending me almost every day this past week. Your words got me through and motivated me to keep trying. I am so grateful for the support that comes from family. Heavenly Father is so incredible to have created such a beautiful way for His children to feel love and support in such a unique way; the family. I thank Heavenly Father every day that I was sent to you, my most-loved Mom and Dad. Thanks again! I love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) </span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-41896010678798249802015-08-17T13:16:00.001-07:002016-03-31T11:38:22.226-07:00August 17, 2015 - Web Bridge<div style="color: #232323;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I love the pictures yall sent me! A looks so beautiful and J is growing up so fast! I can't wait to see our beautiful Isabel! Haha I can't believe that the tomato plant has grown so quickly and in such a short amount of time! Sister Ch and I got a little dollar home grow garden kit (I got the sunflower one of course!) and they have grown so quickly! I never knew how quickly plants could grow and flourish. It just goes to show that if a seed is planted in the right kind of soil and given proper nourishment it thrives. Kind of like the gospel ;) *wink wink*. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anyway... I'm so sorry to hear about Bishop O, that's so sad. I am so grateful for the restored truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that ease the pain of loss. Thank goodness for the beautiful truths such as the Plan of Happiness! I'll be praying for the O family as well. I also love those quotes that you sent me! In fact I've had one of them on my wall the majority of my mission! Thank you for sharing them!! I hope that mom gets to feeling better soon, let her know how much I love her!!</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The end of this week has been incredible! The majority of this week was going by really slow. My companion and I were working really hard and not seeing much success. When Saturday rolled around, we didn't see much improvement that is until the mid-afternoon/evening fell. It first began with R. About a month ago we were tracting in this trailer park. We met a lot of people who spoke Spanish and so it was very difficult to communicate with the little Spanish that we know. Towards the end of our time there we met a woman who spoke only the tiniest bit of English. She was cleaning out her car and when we walked up she expressed no interest in learning about the gospel so we offered our help instead. As we got to communicating a little bit with her she started to break down in tears and then she wrote something down on my planner because she couldn't speak it. On my planner it said a girls name, her age and that she had cancer. We found out that this woman was cleaning out her car to bring home her very sick daughter for what might be the last time. My heart sunk. By the end of our time with her we prayed together and hugged and then we parted not knowing if we would ever see her again because we were going to refer her to the Spanish sisters. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Skip to about a month later, we found out that some of the referrals we sent didn't go through so we decided to stop by their house again while we were in the area, even though we couldn't speak Spanish. When we knocked on the door again R answered. R is the father and speaks perfect English. We were able to talk to R and found out that he had never been in to religion much until his sister passed away from cancer and his daughter was now suffering from it. He said that he had never really spent time with his family until now and that although it has been really hard he is grateful for these times because they've taught him to cherish family. He said he was also grateful because N, the mother, has always been against religion, but now she prays and even though they don't know how to pray they help each other learn. We testified of the peace that comes from the gospel and the joy that comes from knowing that we can be with our families for ever. The Spirit was so strong! This Sunday we will be going over with one of the brothers in our Ward and his wife to give their daughter a blessing. His wife will be translating the blessing in Spanish to N, the mother. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Right afterwards my companion and I both got the prompting to follow up with another potential investigator that we had tried to send over to the Spanish Sisters. When we walked up to the house we immediately met R. Previously we had met R's cousin who said that R needed church in his life, at the time R didn't say much and we assumed it was because he didn't speak English, well it turns out that he does! The only downside is we can hardly understand a word he's saying hah! Anyway so when we saw R he immediately opened up to us. He expressed that he has been searching for truth and wants to change. We testified of the healing and enabling power of Jesus Christ and His gospel. While we were talking he handed my companion his phone and said to talk to his friend, because she needed more help than he did and wanted to share this message with her. While my companion was on the phone I was teaching R. By the end R kept saying that God had sent him angels that day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">When we were walking back to our car my companion told me that R's friend on the phone was a once a member of our church! She said that she had an amazing lesson with her and that my companion got her address! We will be sending a talk to her as well as a referral to some missionaries in North Carolina, where she lives. We found out later on that R had no idea that his friend had been a member! </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Once we got in the car the Spanish Sisters called us and as we were talking they told us that the only referral that sent through from us was getting baptized this Saturday! When we heard his it was just the icing on the cake! I know that Heavenly Father is aware of us. He knows when are working hard, he knows when we are serving him with all that we have and he blesses us. After all, "God honors those who honor him". This is His work and I'm so grateful to be apart of it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I can't believe that they're closing down the family history center in Orem! Will there be a new one? I hope Grandpa's new calling will be just as special to him. :) I'm glad that mom got my letter I made sure that I wrote two letters a couple P.Days ago and then sent them on different days so that she would get them and be surprised. I'm glad my plan worked! :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Anywhoo...so transfers are this Wednesday. Sister Ch, my companion</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> (above)</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">, will be leaving... :( which makes me really sad, but she will be training so I'm really excited for her! My new companion's name is Sister S. She will just be finished with training when I get her so I'll be "greenie-breaking", which should be fun. :) Fun fact: my new companion's trainer was one of my previous companions (Sister S). </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This week we had several miracles. We brought one of our investigators, R, to the baptism of the referrals that I was telling y'all about last week. It turns out that there were three baptisms that night! Two of the people that were baptized were referred from us. We were able to witness the first baptism, but didn't get to witness our referral's baptisms. It turns out there was a miscommunication so the referrals came later. Their baptisms started at around 9pm so we couldn't stay, but at least we got to see them and I wish y'all could've seen the big smiles on their faces when they saw us. It was so nice to see their bright shining smiling faces! :) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So the baptism that we attended was completely in Spanish, but the Spirit there was soooo strong! It was wonderful! On Sunday we went to the hospital with one of the members of our Ward and his son (who just returned from his mission) and his daughter to give R’s daughter a blessing. Again it was completely in Spanish, but the Spirit there was so beautiful and powerful. :) In the blessing Ya was given a blessing of total recovery! As well as several other wonderful blessings. Afterwards her mother asked us if we would go to her friend and give her son a blessing. We did and it was a great experience. Y’s blessing and experience was a testament to me in so many ways. What it shows first off is that when we experience something that helps us so much</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">,</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> our natural reaction is to share what has helped us with those we love. Elder Bednar was talking about this also in his talk "<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/come-and-see?lang=eng" target="_blank">Come and See</a>" from General Conference a little while back. Y'all should check it out. :) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Anywhoo I don't have a lot of time today so I wanted to let y'all know that I love y'all soooooooo much-oooooooooo!!!!!! Remember that y'all are </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">always</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> in my prayers! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I love y'all sooooo much-oooooopoo!!!!!!!! Remember that y'all are </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;">always</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> in my prayers!</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Lots of love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sister Megan Rice</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-70379664209239907552015-08-17T08:38:00.002-07:002016-03-31T11:38:34.409-07:00Ausgust 3, 2015 - Web Bridge<div style="color: #232323;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ins't time just crazy?! It flies by so quickly! I love the thoughts that you had, Dad, when you hit your year mark. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dad</b>: "During my mission I made up my mind that I would not set back and get trunky the few months before leaving, but instead would work my hardest right up to the end. I know you will do the same."</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">That's exactly how I've been feeling! Haha I love how even back when you were serving, missionaries used the word "trunky" haha mission lingo is the best haha :) I'm so glad that y'all got the pictures of Sister Jacobs. I love her sooo much!! She was my Sister Training Leader when I first got out and my very first exchange! It was kind of special to be able to see each other almost exactly a year later from when we first met (in fact I would call that moment a tender mercy/miracle). Her friendship has meant so much to me throughout my mission. Out of all the missionaries I've met she is the only one who has kept in contact with me my entire mission. She means a lot to me. :) She's the one in the middle. My companion Sister C is on the left.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Wasn't the soldier day parade soo cute?!! It was so much fun being able to pass out cards, pamphlets, flags, and candy throughout the parade! I hope that when I show y'all around someday that we can come in time for the soldiers day parade! :) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">I love the tomato plant you have - it's growing so well!! i can't wait to start my own little garden someday! I also loved the thought that you shared about blessings. It reminds me of one of my favorite scriptures Ether 12:4 as well as a few others. :) Thank you for your words of wisdom and encouragement. :)</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This week has felt like almost everything was "go go go". We had a lot of first appointments and although some of them fell through we had really great lessons. Besides that we've been able to get in with a lot of less-actives, which has felt like a huge success because it's been hard to get in with them the past few months. One of the tender mercies Heavenly Father showed us was when we went over to one of the less-active's home. She opened up to us a lot about the struggles they've had and we were able to have a really good discussion afterwards she invited us to come back for dinner a couple days later. While at dinner her husband suggested that we should hold them accountable for reading the Book of Mormon daily and coming to church weekly! My companion and I were both happy to oblige! Afterwards they invited us to come back over in a couple of weeks and this past Sunday they came to church! It was awesome!! As our focus lately has been on less-active work I've been reminded of how important the sacrament is and I've learned the importance of sharing it with others who have forgotten it's importance. I know that the sacrament prepares us individually and renews promised blessings. It makes us better people and provides protection. Those blessings are ones I don't want to live without.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I love y'all soooooo much-oooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!! Remember y'all are always in my prayers. So long for now ~ Have a blessed week!</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Lots of love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sister Megan Rice</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-79003141482750545752015-08-17T08:34:00.001-07:002016-03-31T11:38:49.394-07:00July 20, 2015 - Web Bridge<div style="color: #232323;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Wow! It sounds like a lot has happened! Thanks for the updates. As for my health, I'm doing great! *knock on wood* haha We haven't been on bike in this area, which is nice with the heat, but I must say I definitely loved being able to work off all of the weight gained from all of the food haha, but that's ok! Sometimes we do intense biking in the morning. Which reminds me! There are these absolutely beautiful forest-like paved paths for bikers, runners, and walkers called the "Greenways". Y'all should look them up, because they are beautiful!! Anywhoo.....</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I don't have a lot of time to email since we have been busy deeeeeeep cleaning for apartment and car checks coming up this week. This past week has been an incredible week of tender-mercies. One such tender-mercy was while we were tracting (0h! that reminds me... it has been in the 90's and I'm not sure how much humidity but boyyy it has been hot!!!). After about a half an hour we came to a house on the end of this small street and right as we were walking up to the house this beautiful college aged young women walks out with her dog. As we talked with her she was super friendly and pretty interested. She said that we could come back and teach more and that her boyfriend would be very interested in learning more as well. She also said that her boyfriend might have been involved in the church when he was younger and that his parents might be members. After we had finished talking with her and began to talk among each other my companion realized that her boyfriend was the son of a less-active member who had just moved out of our area. These members were also trying to come back to church and it turns out that missionaries have been trying to meet her son for a while now....It was crazy!! Besides that tender mercy/ miracle we were also able to get in contact with a lot of less-actives that in the past have been hard to get in touch with and we're teaching former investigators!! It's really exciting!! Well it looks like I've gotta be off...So long for now~</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I love y'all sooo much-ooo!!! Remember, y'all are always in my prayers!!</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Lots of love (from your favorite Sister Missionary,</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sister Megan Rice</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">A letter to the missionaries from Pres. Bennion</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dear Elders and Sisters, </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">As promised, here is an update on our dear Sister Beckstrom: She remains in a coma following the car accident that occurred seven weeks ago. Her condition has been upgraded to fair; she has been removed from life support systems, and she opens her eyes, but she remains unresponsive to her external environment. She has been moved from intensive care to a “skilled nursing” facility. The doctors are no longer optimistic that she will regain full consciousness, and they feel that her present condition may continue into the indefinite future. Prayers for her and her family remain important and appreciated. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">With our daughter Christine, it took about 9 months for us to understand the extent of her disabilities, and about 3 to 5 years to fully accept the situation. In our 40 years with Christine, we have learned many valuable lessons for the eternities. We’d like to highlight a few: </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1. -- Live your life one day at a time, doing your best each day, with no regrets. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">2. -- Timing is in the Lord’s hands. We know that everything will be fine in the eternities; the uncertainty is between “now” and “eternity.” But the final outcome is assured through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">3. -- “All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” (Preach My Gospel, page 52) </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">4. -- We focus on what we can do, and leave the rest to the Lord and trust in Him. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">We love all of you and pray for you each day. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">With love and admiration, </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> President &and; Sister Bennion</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4524466590678582753.post-59224607084300422042015-08-17T08:32:00.002-07:002016-03-31T11:38:57.400-07:00July 12, 2015 - Web Bridge<div style="color: #232323;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I love y'alls email so much every Monday when I read them it brightens up my week!!! Thank y'all for the wise words and encouragement it brings me so much joy and comfort. Really thank you. I can't believe the tomato plants have already started producing tomatoes that are ready to eat...that was so quick!! I can't wait for my own personal planter box to garden with! Also, I love the example that was related to the tomato plants. I'm going to have to use that! I can't believe that M is married!! That's crazy! Also I love the items on the memory table, that is sooo special!! My first thought was, "awwwwww". It warms my heart to know what they represent and what they mean to y'all! :) </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> This week has been interesting haha. All of the investigators we found my first transfer in this area have either moved or gone on vacation....so now we are back to the finding stage again haha, but that's ok! This week we were also able to serve A LOT and that has been awesome!! The feeling that comes from serving is amazing. :) Besides that I guess my thought for this week is this that found in Alma 34:9-10 which reads, </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made. For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice." </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Recently one of our recent converts has wanted to know more about the Atonement and so the majority of my studies have been reflected on that sacred topic and what I have been reminded of during those moments of reflection is that no matter where we are in life, no matter who we are, or what we have chosen to do there is one who knows, understands, and loves us. No one is too far away from the reach of the atonement of Jesus Christ. The Atonement, if used daily, will enable us and provide the opportunity to learn and grow.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I love y'all sooooo much-ooooooooooo!!!!!!!! Remember that y'all are always in my prayers!!! </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Lots of Love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sister Megan Rice</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862023932710407695noreply@blogger.com0