October 19, 2015 - John's Creek

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!
This past Saturday 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. 
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!
Lots of love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),
Sister Megan Rice

Southern Country Scene 

Tee Hee :)

Sister B & me!

October 13, 2015 - John's Creek

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. They 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! (She was a former investigator). 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. 
Recently I've found a lot of comfort and peace in Mosiah 23:21-24, Mosiah 24, and Alma 34:41. 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 the attribute of 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 “the heavenly virtue of patience is required.” (President Monson). In Alma 26: 28-31 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. 
"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 [the promise] bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success." (Alma 26:27) A scripture that has great significance to me states this, "And now my beloved brethren, I would exhort you to have patience, 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; But that ye have patience, and bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions." (Alma 34:40-41). 
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 faith in Christ, hope in His promises, and love towards God and His children nothing can stop us from reaching the full potential that our Father in Heaven sees in each of us.
I love y'all sooooooooo much-oooooooooooooo!!!!!!! Remember that y'all are always in my prayers, everyday. I pray y'all have a blessed week.
Lots of love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),
Sister Megan Rice

October 5, 2015 - John's Creek

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 on Wednesday morning and they followed me on Thursday! 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!
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!
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 Sunday 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 LDS.org 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 Sunday evening session V texted us asking what the name of the website was again because her daughter had accidentally closed out LDS.org. 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 on Sunday and must have heard them talk about he next session! It was awesome!!
I loved what Elder Renlund said in General Conference, "It's not about you. It's about the Lord, His work, and the love He has for His children." 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.
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!!!!!!!!
Lots of love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),
Sister Megan Rice

 One of my favorite families from the Webb Bridge Ward; the Perry Family :)

New companion!

Being silly!

September 28, 2015 - Last of Web Bridge

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...

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.

Remember that y'all are always in my prayers. I love y'all soooooo much-oooooooooo!!!!!!
Lots of love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),
Sister Megan Rice

September 21, 2014 - Web Bridge

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. :)

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. 

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. :) 

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. 

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.

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. 

Remember that I love y'all sooooooo much-oooooooooooooo!!!!!!!! Y'all are always in my prayers. I pray y'all have a blessed week. :)

Lots of love (from your favorite Sister Missionary),

Sister Megan Rice 

September 14, 2014 - Web Bridge

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! 

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!!

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. :)

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 all 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.

Remember that I love yall sooooooooooooooooo much-oooooooooooooooo!!!! Yall are always in my prayers.

Your favorite Sister Missionary, Megan Rice

September 8, 2014 - Web Bridge

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. :) 

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. :)

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. :) 

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. 

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 always in my prayers; every day and every night. :)

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)