Monday, December 22, 2014

A trial I didn't expect!

Well first off I hope each of you are just as excited about Christmas as I am!?
Just a few things to tell you
First off remember Joe?? I started teaching him my second day out on my mission, well he is finally getting baptized this Saturday!!!:) We are very excited for him and he has just been glowing since he found out. 
but the other thing I have to tell ya'll is I am also coming home tomorrow. I have been having issues with my left foot since I have been out and it is not healing the way it needs to. The doctors and my mission president have told me it is best to go home and take care of the issue. It was a big shock to me especially since Joe is finally getting baptized. But I do feel at peace about it and have been told by many people there is obviously something I need to be doing at home right now. Its hard to see that because I have come to love these people in South Carolina and love being a missionary, but I trust in Heavenly Father and His plan for me. I just keep telling myself He sees the bigger picture. I received a priesthood blessing on Friday night, and in it I was told that the Lord is pleased with my service and missionary efforts, and blessed me with understanding and patience. I'm not sure what the future holds in store but I do know that my Heavenly Father loves me and He knows whats best for me. 
I thought it was hard to say goodbye to my family...but its been hard to say goodbye to the people I have come to love so much. My heart feels like it has been torn in half. 
But I wanted to take a moment to share my testimony and what I have learned while being on my mission. 
My mission has taught me so many things but I think the biggest thing has been love. Being set apart as a representative of Christ has given me the ability to feel a tiny little sliver of the love Christ has for every person. It has been so amazing to knock on someones door and just instantly feel love and care about everything they are facing and to yearn for them to accept our message. I know that this wouldn't be possible if this wasn't the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. My relationship with my Savior and the covenants I have made has brought me the most happiness in my life and I know it can do the same for all ya'll. 
Im sorry this is so short, my brain is kind of going 100 mph right now. But I just wanted to let ya'll know how much I love each of you and how much it has meant to me the support and prayers from everyone. 
I will be in touch soon...
Until then... Merry Christmas!
Love, 
Sister Micaela Ann Rice

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Christmas Photos Dec 17,2014

                                              Thank you Jen Helm for taking our pictures. What a fun P-day!!!










Monday, December 15, 2014

Funny Story! Dec 15, 2015

Well to start off this email  I would like to tell you something really funny....We killed a raccoon yesterday!! hahaha:) it was awful! Sister Bartholomew said " I just killed one of Heavenly Father's creatures in His car" it was sad but great.
Anyways this week has been a very good one...it is getting so close to Christmas! Are yall excited? I know I am. I love this time of year. Everyone just seems happier and you just feel the Saviors love radiate off of everyone. 
We have had kind of a slow week and not much going on, but still working very hard and seeing so many miracles happen daily. I am sorry this is so short but I lost track of time and only have a few minutes. 
Real quick I wanted to share what I have learned this week. I have kind of had a theme in my study this week...its been about faith. Which is very funny because my faith is being tested right now. But I feel it growing. 
I came across this verse in 1 Timothy 6:12 "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, where unto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses."

I found so much strength in that verse. This life is not just a test to see if we can endure trials and temptations, but it is literally a fight! And the way we have strength in this fight is through faith and hope of eternal life. We are all fighting a battle right now and when we turn to the Savior and have faith and trust in Him, He gives us the strength to win the battle. 
I know each of you are facing different things and can feel exhausted at times and just want to give up but I am here to tell  you to stay strong! and fight back! Don't let Satan tear you down and show Heavenly Father that you trust in His plan for you. He loves you very much! and like my father told me today the Lord doesn't give you anything you can't handle. 
I love yall so much and am so thankful for your prayers and support...i can feel it all the way over here in South Carolina.
Have a good week!
until next time....
Love,
Sister Rice


Sunday, December 14, 2014

Weeks just go by fast Dec 8, 2014

Well can you believe your getting another email from me?!?! haha the weeks just go by sooooo fast. I feel like December just started and now there are only 17 days til Christmas. How exciting! I love this time of year. I hope you each are enjoying it as much as me.

So we have had a pretty good week here in Anderson. We found out that we get to watch the "meet the mormons" movie on December 19th. I am so excited to see it! Also did anyone go on youtube yesterday?? Well if you did, Did you notice something different? The "He is a gift video" (which I sent yall last week and all of you should have watched it) was the only thing being advertised on there. It was called a youtube takeover, where the church bought out all the places to do ads and put the link to the video on it. It was estimated over 200 million people would have watched that yesterday. How neat is that!!! I love being apart of this great work. So Share that video with everyone and help the world remember the real reason we celebrate CHRISTmas.

We had our ward Christmas party on Friday night and about 275 people were there...it was a great turn out. The theme was Frozen:) and they also had Santa there. It was great because we had 3 investigators show up, and there were so many members friends/family that they introduced us to. They read some symbols of traditional Christmas stuff. Like did you know that the reason we put candy canes on a tree is because if you turn it upside down its a "J" for Jesus, or did you know the reason we put a star as a tree topper is because it represents the north star that appeared the night Christ was born:) Makes it a little more meaningful now I think!

So we started teaching this girl named Lauren, who is Amazing!! She is 22 and is a nurse, and we met her through a member. She is dating Nate(a guy in our ward) and he has been bringing her to church for a little over a month now. We have been able to do a few things with her like shopping and went and got ice cream, and went over to her house to help decorate her tree. Well that was the plan...but when we got there we ended up just talking and she really opened up to us. We then answered some of the questions that she had and then told her our purpose as missionaries and asked if she wanted to take the lessons. She said yes and was really excited. Its really neat too because her family is being very supportive. So she had us over for dinner this week and we taught her about the Restoration of the gospel. The Spirit was so strong and she even got emotional a couple of times. We invited her to be baptized and she accepted!!! She is preparing to be baptized December 20th:) so pray for her. She is great...what was really neat at church the next day we had a relief society lesson about Sister Dibbs conference talk " i know it i live it i love it" and the teacher told sister Dibbs story about seeing a young women wearing a tshirt that said " im a mormon are you?" and so the teacher passed out pieces of paper and asked each of us what we would put on a tshirt that represented our testimony or who we are...well being a little snoopy I was interested what Lauren put:) She wrote on her paper Moroni 10:5 that says "And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things which was a scripture Sister Bartholomew had her read the night before. and then at the bottom she put in big letters " I BELIEVE" and by the end of the lesson she added "I KNOW" :) it was so amazing to see her write that and from watching her testimony grow in just a few minutes. 
I know that sharing the gospel can be nerve wracking but you never know who's life you can change. Its a simple invitation to change someone's life. I would invite each of you to read or watch Sister Dibbs talk and share the gospel with someone this week.


 and for those of you who aren't members I would invite you to find out more. Just like the scripture in Moroni that as you seek for yourself you will know if its true for the Holy Ghost. and just like Lauren you can go from a belief to a for sure knowing in moments because of the power of the Holy Ghost. 

I love being a missionary:) and I love this work. I love Christ and Heavenly Father and I love you all. I know that they do as well. They are there for you always. Turn to them. Discover and embrace the gift of Christ and His gospel this Christmas season. 
I have reflected a lot on my past this week and I am so grateful that I made the decisions to take missionary discussions and get baptized. I have not once regretted this decision, and will never. Because I know it was the right choice and that this is what Heavenly Father wants His children following. I hope you each will embrace it more in your life this next week.

until next time.... I love yall so much! Thanks for all the support1
Love,
Sister Rice
                                                               Light of Hope Park





Hello Everyone :) Dec 1, 2014

Well I cant believe another week has gone by:) First off how was everyone's thanksgiving?
Mine was great haha I had 5 thanksgivings to go to on Thursday and then 2 on Friday. Lets just say we were stuffed. 
But It was so neat to be able to participate in so many families feast. Everyone just took us right in:) I love the people here.
I hope yall enjoyed it and that none of you stayed up too late going black Friday shopping.
This week has gone by so fast. I really cant remember much that happened. I need to start bringing my journal when I email because I get here and cant remember what we did this week haha:)
But have yall seen the new lds video " He is the gift"
If not go watch it! here is the link:


It is AMAZING! I hope each of you enjoy this time of year and try not to loose the real reason why we celebrate Christmas. Yes the presents are fun and all that stuff, but the real reason is because of Christ our Savior. He is the real gift and what we should be grateful for.
I hope each of you watch this video and share it with your friends through email or facebook, or however you want to. Just share it and embrace it.
Christ is the reason why we have so many things. 
I am so grateful for the Savior and His birth and His sacrifice. I know that if it wasn't for Him I wouldn't be who I am today and I wouldn't have this amazing opportunity to share the gospel. I love being a missionary and I love being a member of His church.
I hope each of you spend some time this holiday season getting to know your Savior more and take them time to appreciate the gift or Heavenly Father has given us, His only begotten son.

Sorry it is short this week but until next week... 
know that I love each of you!! and so does Heavenly Father!

Love,
Sister Rice








Happy Thanksgiving! Nov 24, 2014

How is everyone doing? Are ya'll excited for Thanksgiving? and Black Friday shopping? haha
Well I guess it would be appropriate to start this email off with what I am thankful for. Where to even begin...
I am first thankful for all of ya'll that pray and support me while I am out here. I truly feel those prayers. I am thankful for my family and all that they do for me. I am thankful for the people here that have become my family. I am most thankful for the Savior and His atonement. Im thankful for the opportunity that I get to teach people everyday about His life and who He was. I feel so blessed. I have tons more to say but because of time I will stop
This week has been great:) We are finding new people to teach and getting to know amazing people with crazy life experiences. This work is amazing. I love being able to see how when people accept Christ in their life how much they change and how much more confident they are. While studying this morning I kept coming across a theme that the Lord loves us. And that His love never fails. He is there and when we feel His love, others can feel it through our example. I hope ya'll know how much the Lord loves you and that when you are living the commandments that others can feel His love through you. Im sorry this is so short but know that I am doing great, that I love this work, and that I love all of you! I hope you all have a great week and Thanksgiving. And remember that this Holiday season is all because of the Savior Jesus Christ and that is what we should focus on. 
I love ya'll!
Until next time...
Watch this video about thanksgiving:)


Love, Sister Rice

Another week goes by Nov 17, 2014

Well how is everyone doing this week? My mom tells me ya'll got snow? That sounds exciting...I'm glad I'm not there hahah:)
It is getting pretty cold here though...and has been raining all day...like cats and dogs kind of raining hah.
So this last week has been a very good week and busy:) We have been meeting so many new people and this week our schedule is pretty much full with appointments. We are being blessed for our work. I love being a missionary! It is most of the time exhausting and mentally, emotionally, and spiritually draining. But so rewarding. It only takes one person that feels the spirit to turn my day around and make it all worth it. I seriously don't know how I get up and go every morning...well okay I lied...I know exactly how I do it..Jesus Christ. This is his work and he gives the strength to his missionaries to get it done. I feel so blessed to be apart of it. The more I am out here the more I start to recognize the Lords tender mercies every single day. I hope ya'll can see the Lord in your daily life. And if you can't well..LOOK HARDER! He is there. I promise you that. When you feel alone go to the scriptures and prayer, and I promise you that you will instantly feel peace and comfort. Thats what they are there for. Heavenly Father didn't send us here to be sad all the time, to feel alone, and to fail. He sent us here to be tried and tested and to see what we will do with our faith in Him. I would invite each of you to try to recognize tender mercies of the Lord in each day this week and I promise you that you will see them and feel happier and more blessed because of them. Will each of you please watch this video sometime this week about the Lords tender mercies:)


I hope everything is going great in your life and that you feel the Savior's love for you. Because as a missionary I get to feel just a little tiny sliver of the love He has for you and I can testify that He loves you so much. There is no words to describe it. He is there and He knows everything you are going through. Turn to Him, He is waiting with open arms.
Until next time...
Love,
Sister Rice


Another Great Week Nov 10,2014

Well its been another great week:)
This last friday our ward had a chili cook off and all the missionaries were asked to be the judges for it. I had to try 24 different chilis....it was great haha:) People here make some weird flavors of chili...oh and there was this one that had a lot...A LOT of jabenero peppers. We all had to take a minute break after eating that one. But it was fun and the ward loved it.
The work is continuing to progress here. We recently learned how to teach the lessons in 7 minutes. Its very short but very powerful and we have already seen a difference in the people we are teaching using this new way to teach. 
Joe is doing great and will hopefully be getting baptzied soon and we are teaching his grandma Susan and she is preparing to be baptized as well. 
I have been learning so much and sometimes feel like Im learning more than the people I am teaching. There is this great talk that I read this week because of where I am at in the New Testament and I would invite each of you to read it. Its about the story where Christ heals the little boy because of the fathers belief or faith, and how we all struggle with not fully believeing sometimes but that the Lord makes up for that. 
The gospel is so true and changes lives. I see it daily. I hope you all are embracing it and soaking it all in. We only have a short amount of time to learn as much as we can and make our faith as strong as we can before our time here is done. May we all take the time to do the simple things each day, like praying, reading the scriptures, serving, and going to church. We need to be preparing spiritually and temporally for the things to come. I have read over and over again this week in the scriptures Christ sayiong, "I come quickly." Are we ready to meet Him? By strengthening our faith His grace will help us become more like Him. We can lean on Him to make it through this life. He is the way back home.
I hope you all know how much Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are aware of you and love you. Remember we are all divine beings. I love you all and am so grateful for all the support I get from you! Thank you for all you do! Have a great week:)
Until next time.... 
Love,
Sister Rice



Can you believe how time flies? Nov 3, 2014

Can you believe how time flies? I can't believe October is over! I hope ya'll had a good Halloween:)
So I got a new companion. Her name is Sister Bartholomew and she is from Orem, Utah. She is super sweet and only has 5 months left of her mission. She says it goes by fast, and I already can tell that. I hope it slows down! I already feel like its flown by. I left in the middle of summer and now its getting into winter. Speaking of winter...it is getting cold here! haha It always feels ten degrees colder than what it says because of the humidity and the wind. But I rather be cold than hot and sweaty.
Well its been another great week as a missionary full of exciting things. I have learned so many amazing things. I love doing this work, I am learning more every day. Its neat that all day every day I get to testify of Jesus Christ and His Atonement, that He suffered for everything we have and will go through. I love being able to share that message, and every time I do my testimony grows stronger. Elder Holland, one of the apostles right now, said that as a missionary the atonement will carry me more than it does my investigators most of the time. It is so TRUE! Its hard work and sometimes discouraging and heart breaking when people dont accept the message and stop investigating, but the good always out weighs the bad. And I have learned to turn to Christ atonement in those times to strengthen and uplift me. 
Its amazing to see when people start to feel the truth of what we share, its almost like you can see a shift in their eyes and their countenance. Thats my favorite part of being a missionary, watching others change. Its a blessing that I can see every day.
We met this man this week who lost his 13 year old son this year, and he wanted nothing to do with religion, but when we started talking about the plan of salvation, and how families cam be together for eternity, he opened up and started asking questions and he said we could come back and share more. It was amazing to me to see the healing instantly in his eyes. 
I know that because the Savior suffered for each of us and died on the cross that any ANY feeling we have can be healed through His atonement. I invite each of you this week to pray to Heavenly Father and ask for the atonement to take place in your life for anything that has been weighing down on you. And I promise you as one of Christ's representatives right now that His spirit will come into your life and ease your pain. I know this to be true! I see it daily. Embrace His love, there is no reason for us to suffer things longer than we should, they have already been paid for by our loving brother Jesus Christ.
I hope ya'll have an amazing week full of light and love from His spirit1
Until next time...
Love,
Sister Rice




Hello :) Oct 27, 2014

Hello everyone:)
Once again it has been a great week here in South Carolina as a missionary:) I hope all of you are enjoying the fall weather back home!
Its been a busy week...
The first thing is that Sister Hendrix is getting transferred:/ It was a long week waiting to find out if she was or not. We got a voice mail saturday night that just said the names of the missionaries being transferred in our zone( a couple of mission areas) and we go to Columbia wednesday to find out where she is going and who will be coming back with me. I'm sad to see her go and nervous to get a new companion but know that this is all in the Lords timing and that there is someone new I am suppose to teach with. 
We have been really focusing on building our teaching pool and we finally have one! We are working with 6 main investigators right now. And it is all going so good. We are still working with Joe and he is still doing great, just please pray for her that his personal affairs can come in line so he can get baptized. We have started teaching his grandma Susan and she is so sweet. She will be having a surgery this week but after she recovers from that she really wants to get baptized. She received a priesthood blessing last night to give her comfort for her surgery this week. We have also been working with this man named Scott who is doing great. He loves church and said her really enjoys that we worship reverently(that doesn't happen much in the South), but he is progressing and hopefully this week we can invite him to be baptized.
We have also been working with the Fords, and the Simpsons. Both of them are part member families. Brother Ford and Brother Simpson are not members but their wives are. And its kind funny because they both live down the street from each other...and both have the same concerns. So we literally go down the street one after another and basically have the same discussions. But they are both great families and good fathers. They have been coming to church as well:) Its kinda weird teaching them and sometimes hits close to home, but it gives me practice to know what to say to my dad;) haha Love you dad!!
But really I think I can connect to them on a different level because every time I share my testimony I think of them as my father and how much it would mean to their families to have them both accept and embrace the gospel. I can really empathize with them. I have high hopes for both of them and just feel so blessed for the amazing people we are working with here in Anderson. The gospel truly brings me so much joy, and especially sharing it! I love being a missionary!:)
I hope all of you are doing amazing, and that you might all feel inspired to share this with someone. You never know who is searching for it and doesn't even realize it. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ is His gospel and that it brings us some much peace and fills in all those missing pieces, and answers the questions of the soul. I hope all of you are embracing it into your lives and finding out for yourselves if it is true.
Until next time....I love you all! and thank you all for the support!
Love,
Sister Rice





3 Months down 15 to Go! Oct 20, 2014

Hello everyone:) I hope yall had a great week!
I sure did!
I cant believe I have already been gone for 3 months...it is going by too fast for me! 
There has been so many great things happening here in Anderson South Carolina:)
First off Joe is doing great! He is continuing to prepare for baptism and hopefully will be baptized on Nov 1st if we can get him interviewed this Saturday. He is pretty much a member! He has been helping the Elders Quorum help people move, participating in family home evenings, going home teaching, and is even helping us teach his grandma the lessons. His grandmas name is Susie and she is so sweet. We taught her the plan of salvation this week and she just kept saying that it makes sense and she already believed a lot of it, her church just didn't preach it. We have high hopes for her. The only problem is it might be difficult for the quit smoking, but we know that if we pray and how faith in the Lord it is possible!
We also taught this man name Scott. He is a neighbor to one of t he members in the ward. He is so prepared for the gospel! He said he remembers seeing the church's commercials when he was a little kid and feeling the spirit. He now is ready to learn more about the church.
It was really neat too we went and saw this family in the ward. The mother is a member and the father and the kids aren't. We were able to have a really good lesson with the family about coming to church and gaining a testimony of the gospel. The dad didn't seem to sure about it. And he said he didn't like that everyone has a testimony of Joseph Smith as a prophet, he said that it should be focused on Christ and the living prophet. We told him to pray about coming to church this Sunday and they didn't really tell us they would or not. We left feeling good about our visit though because we were able to schedule a time to come back. Sunday morning we see them walking down the hall!! Sister Hendrix and I were so excited...im pretty sure our jaws dropped to the floor hahah:) But the best part is that every single talk in sacrament was centered on Jesus Christ and what he has done for us. It was exactly what he needed to hear.
This work is so amazing! There is no other way I would want to spend my time right now.I love the people here so much and can't imagine my life without them. That is one thing I love about the gospel. Since  its all ran by the priesthood authority of God and because we have the knowledge we will see each other for eternity and that were all brothers and sisters, it unites us wherever we are. The gospel unifies all of us and brings us all hope and joy in this crazy world. Share it with people! The gospel brings us true happiness and peace in our lives. It is the only way to have our families knit together for eternity. I'm so grateful for the knowledge and testimony I have of the gospel and I hope those of you who aren't members will look into it, and those of you who are members will share it! I hope all of you know how much I love you! and Thank you so much for all the support you give me. I couldn't do it without your prayers!
Until next time...
Love,
Sister Rice




Another week has come and gone Oct 13, 2014

Hello everyone!
I hope all is going great back in Idaho or where ever you may be:)
Everyone here just makes fun of me about being from Idaho and loving it so much. They say only Idahoans like to stay where they were born hahah:) The Bishop is from Shelley, Idaho so he gets me:) and is trying to convince is wife to move back there once he gets released. I told her that Im on his side haha:)
But South Carolina is also beautiful and where the Lord wants me to live right now. I love all the trees here especially right now with all the leaves changing. It is so pretty. I will have to take pictures this week and attach them to my email next week so ya'll can see it. 
The work is moving forward here in Anderson. We are meeting many new people and hoping to set up return appointments. 
Our investigator Joe is doing a lot better and is back on track preparing for baptism, so please pray for him that it will all work out how the Lord wants it to. 
It was really neat this week, my mtc teacher had emailed me and advised me to think of talents I have and use them on my mission. My companion and I were discussing that one day this week and how we could better work with the youth because we feel like that is a strength of both of ours. We couldn't really think of any and it was time to go so we knelt to say a prayer, and after Sister Hendrix said " Lets text Jen and invite her to come to book of mormon class."
Side note: Jen is a young woman in the ward that teaches with us sometimes, and book of mormon class happens on wednesday nights and we read from the book of mormon with our investigators.
Back to the story...so I texted her and she ended up coming, afterwards we invited her to go get frozen yogurt with us because we didnt have enough time to drive to our area but couldnt be in until 9. So we went to frozen yogurt and while talking with her she started to cry and told us she was having a rough day and dwelling on past mistakes and that everything we read and discussed in book of mormon class was what she needed and the advice we gave her over yogurt is what she has been trying to figure out and pray about. We all were crying(because were girls) and because we felt the Spirit. Heavenly Father answered prayer through a simple thought Sister Hendrix had. Her mom texted us later and told us how grateful she was for us reaching out to her like that.
It was such a neat experience. It taught me so much on acting on the Spirit. That any good thought we have is the Spirit directing us to be an answer to someone elses prayer. I would invite ya'll to listen to those tiny impressions you get through out the week. Like to call or text someone, smile at someone, or go visit someone. You never know what they might be going through that you could help make their day a little better.
Heavenly Father answers our prayers. He loves us and cares about us and knows everything were going through. I hope all of you know that and I hope all of you take the time to pray to Him and build that relationship with Him.
I would like if ya'll could each send me the ways that you have come to know your Heavenly Father, or how He has answered your prayers:) It would be awesome to hear from ya'll but also to learn from your experiences.
Until next week!
Love,
Sister Rice






Hello Everyone :) Oct 6, 2014

Well I hope everyone had a great week:) I sure did.
I have been learning so much and continuing to have such amazing experiences. 
Just an update on our investigator Joe. We had to postpone his baptismal date for some personal reasons, and are currently helping him work towards another one. We are looking towards the end of October. He is doing great and staying strong. He watched all four sessions of conference with us:) 
Speaking of conference it was amazing! I hope all of you had a chance to accept my invitation last week to watch some of it...if not that is okay because they are already on the church website. lds.org
and this week I am inviting you to take the time to watch some of it and if you did watch it, watch it again. It was truly inspired by the Lord. I promise you that if you each take the time to watch even just one talk that you will be spiritually uplifted. 
I wish I could put into words how much this gospel means to me and how I wish everyone would head its message. There was a great talk by an apostle named Elder David Bednar that focused on why members are so eager to share the gospel and I would invite all of you to listen to it. 
I know that the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is Christ church restored to its fullness and that we can come to find that out for ourselves as we take the time to find out about it and listen to the missionaries message, and read the Book of Mormon. 
I know that as members we may seem pushy about sharing the gospel but we dont try to seem that way and we dont do it just to bring more people into the church, we share it because we know the joy it has brought into our lives, and the comfort. I want all of my family and friends to experience the same joy and knowledge I have. And i hope that you would all take the time to find out for yourselves. What would it hurt to just look into it? You will never know until you try it. I love all of you so much and am so grateful for all the support each of you give me. Thank you for all you do. It truly means a lot. Until next time...
Love,
Sister Rice

There is the link to the General Conference talks. I hope you will take the time to look at them. Especially Elder Bednars from Sunday Afternoon Session.