Well this is it. I have got 10 days left on the mission, and unforuntaly less than 10 minutes left on the computer... I have never seen an hour pass by so quickly like it does when you use it writing family on the mission.

Any way now that i am at the end, the only thing i got to say is: these were with out a doubt the two greatest years of my life!

I don´t think there has been one minute in these last two years that has been easy. And i never wanted it to be easy, when i came in to the mission i came with the desire to do the will of the Lord and nothing more. I didn´t come to be a tourist, to collect exotic goods, or anything else other than serve. And when i have been able to do this, i have never felt so happy in my life. There truly is nothing better than to faithfully serve our Heavenly Father.

Sorry for the short email, but next week i will send a good one! 

I love you all and remember there is no pathway to true happiness other obedience to the commandments!!

Elder Rice

November 28, 2016

When you get to the end of the mission, its like you become an old wise man, everyone looks to you as a becon of wisdom amongst a sea of clueless kids haha! This week i did a division with a couple of other missionaries and at the end of the day we went back home a little early so that i could give them some advice about how they could improve the work in their area. And for nearly an hour they just filled me with questions. How to teach, what to say, where to go, how to plan activites everything! I mean i recognize the fact that in reality i say very, very, very little, but in that moment I felt like some sort of wizard!

The closer i get to the end i think the more i come to appreciate missionary work itself. Even though when i go back home i will no longer have the missionary mantel, i will most definately have the missionary spirit. The work of the lord is too great too important to let it be limited to these two short years that i am fulfilling right now. For the rest of my life i will search to spread the gospel in all places and in all moments, something i realize that i never did very well before i came to the mission. But the change that i have experienced here will not be a short lived one, it will be one that will go with me for the rest of my life and eternity!

The greatest feeling is to know that Heavenly Father is happy with us, no matter what that requires of us. The apostles felt this many times ´´And they departed from the presence of the council,rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.´´ (acts 5:41)

I love you all and hope you all seek the opportunities to shar the gospel and suffer a little for Him!

Com Amor,

Elder Rice

November 21, 2016

Hey Everybody,

Another great week here in Sorriso! And today i want to tell you guys about one of our investigators. E. Nascimento and I are teaching many people but there is one guy that i have to tell you guys about. His name is Christiano, and he is an athiest. Or at least was an athiest. 

A little bit about Christiano. We met him one day while we were talking to people at a public park, and after we talked with him for a few minutes he made it clear that he did not believe in God because of all of the unjustices that exisit in the world and the fact that the bible contradicts its self and teaches prinipals with which he doesn´t agree. Like women being submissive to men. Although that and many other principals that he thinks he doesn´t agree with is actually due to the fact that he doesn´t understand the context in which it is spoken. 

After speaking with us for a little bit, he was impressed by the sacrifice that we make as missionaries, and he also thought it was super cool that i am American. I mean he thought it was really, really cool haha after i said i was american he and his friends wouldn´t stop asking me questions. luckily between the combination of him being impressed with our sacrifice and enchanted by american culture he accepted to hear our message.

And here comes the miracle!! When we went to his house to teach him we spent a good bit of time talking to be able to understand his beliefs about creation, God, and this life. We found out that he believes in the idea of an all powerful being but not in a loving God. After making a few more essencial questions we started to teach him about the restoration of the gospel. And let me tell you i have never seen absorve everything that we have to say like christiano. The lesson was incredible and the spirit testified to him that what we were saying is true.

The best part of the lesson was when we recited the first vision to him. As i said that Joseph saw a pillar of light above his head, Christiano smilied and it was as if i could see the spirit illuminate his mind. It was incredible to see.

Now Christiano is reading the Book of Mormon everyday and prays to God regularly. He has accepted baptism, and is willing to make changes in his life.

I don´t think i have ever been so personally invested in another person in the mission like i am with Christiano. I want so badly to see him enter in the waters of baptism. And i will do everything that i can to help him make this sacred covenant with the lord!

Seeing his progress is an incredible reminder about how the gospel can change us and how it illuminates is in our lives!

´´Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did lightup his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God—´´ Alma 19:6

Let the light of the gospel shine ever brighter in your lives. Be obediente and make the necessary changes!

Love,

Elder Rice

November 7, 2016

Eae Gente!!

The hight light of this week was a good one, BAPTISM!!! This saturday Carla, and her kids, João Pedro, and Camila were baptized. There was also another baptism of a little old lady named Carmelita that the sisters in the branch are teaching. And this baptismal service was incredible. There were at least 40 members present to welcome the branches newest members, and the spirit was so sweet and so strong! The greatest moment for me was when i was in the baptismal font with Carla. I looked at her all in white, saw all the members smiling, and saw the clear waters of baptism and i could just feel the sacredness of what was happening, and it just made me so happy! It is that feeling that will always be the greatest testimony to me that God lives, I can feel his presence and i am happy when i do as he desires.

´´And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.´´ Mosiahs 2:41

Love you all and hope you have a great week!

October 24, 2016

Hey Everybody!

This week was great! One of the highlights was a family night that we did in the house of an investigator on friday night. We invited a bunch of members to Denise and Marcio´s house. We have been teaching them for about 3 weeks now, and they are incredible. Like many of the people that we teach they have their own personal problems. Unfortunately Marcio is fighting against drug addiction and Denise is trying to hold on the the last strand of hope that Marcio really can change. It is difficult to watch other people pass through difficulties in their lives. When i see it i just want to grab a hold of the their lives and make everything be better instantly. But unfortunately that isn´t how it works and that´s not our heavenly father plan for us. Since I am not able to miraculously change the lives of others, at least i try to do the best that i can. Which is share the gospel!!!! I think this is the most incredible thing about the gospel of Christ. It doesn´t´matter what personal problems you have, whether it be addictions, debts, doubts, whether you have been betrayed, mistreated or abused the gospel of Jesus Christ can make you life better. Even if by some miracle you don´t have problems in your life, the gospel will make it even better!!

On friday night it was an incredible opportunity to have a family night with Denise and Marcio. My companion shared an extremely interactive yet spiritual message, that touched everyone. I stayed pretty quiet the whole night because i literally could not speak, i lost my voice and wasn´t able to speak louder than a whisper. But it was so nice to see as friendships were made and everyone joked around together.

In other news Carla and her kids will be baptised this saturday!! Which is pretty awesome. The progress of Carla has been incredible as we have been teaching her. She too still has several problems of her own, but the gospel is helping her overcome it all!

I love being a missionary! The church is true and Christ lives. 

Hope you all have a great week!

Elder Rice

October 10, 2016

Friends and family!!

Lots to do and not nearly enough time to do it!

Its gonna be another quick one!

This week was about a million times better than the other weeks that have passed by! And i got to give a big ol´ thank you to my new stud companion, Elder Nascimento! He pretty much puts me to shame, but i gotta admit i am super grateful to have him as a companion, he is teaching me a lot, and the most incredible thing is that he does it without saying a word.

The feeling of love that i felt in other areas that i have served is starting to come back. I am once again seeing the hand of the lord in our work, an just the week he has lead us to have some incredible experiences. One of which was when a woman stopped us in the street, and requested that we went to her house to teach her and her family. She said that she has been to the chruch many times already and wants to come back! Miracle!

Any way life is good, i am still being contanstly show my weaknesses, by my pride is already so beaten that i am willingly to accept pretty much all criticism! 

Love you all and hope you all have a great week!!

October 3, 2016

Hey Everybody!

Alright, wasn´t general conference absolutely incredible!! I mean seriously all of the talks were just so inspired, it is such a blessing to have living prophets who can speak to us!

This week i really am on a time crunch. In a couple of hours 10 other missionaries will be arriving in our city for a zone meeting tomorrow. So my comapnion and i have to make lunch for everyone, and we have organized some other activities for everyone just to hang out.

My week was great! I mean things haven´t gotten any easier, but i am learning a lot and that is what makes it so great. In fact this week i was pretty much slapped in the face but all of my weaknesses and shortcoming, it hurt a little bit when i realized that i was failing in quite a few aspects, but its just a new challenge and opportunity for me to grow! So it was good! :)

Oh and for those of you that don´t know i will no longer be extending my mission. I had decided to extend my mission until febuary, but two weeks ago i found out that my brother, Matt will be getting married on the 20th of december. So i talked with my mission president about the possiblitly of me coming home in december (my original departure date) instead of febuary to be able to see my brothers wedding. President oliveira said that it would be a once in a life time opportunity for me to be there and recommended that i return early! So I´ll be home for the holidays!

I love you all and hope that you all have a great week!

Elder Rice

September 12, 2016

Oi Gente!

Things are starting to go better and better! With every passing week i get a little bit more accustomed to the members here and loving them more. 

This Sunday my companion and i did a devotional for the branch. It went super well and there were about 50 people present. The message that we left was about the value of the gospel. I´ll try and explain a little bit about how it went. So to get a everyone to come and participate, we promised that there would be a bunch of chocolate, so much that everyone would get sick from eating it. And without fail, everyone showed up to stuff their faces. After we started i asked ``WHO WANTS CHOCOLATE`` and man its incredible what the power sweets have on the behavior of people. That crowd of latter day saints turned in to a group of children that want ice cream after dinner. I counted to three and the first person who raised their hand would be the first to win the chocolate. A young woman was the first to throw her hand in the air and I called her to the front to give her the chocolate. When she came to the front, i grabbed the most delicious chocolate on the table, and promptly threw it on the ground... She had a terrible look of disgust of her face. Then i asked ``WHO WANTS CHOCOLATE`` this time the crowd wasn´t so excited. It was obvious that no liked the way i had given her the chocolate, so i promised I wouldn´t do it again. Then i went to the branch president, and kindly placed his favorite chocolate in his hand. He had a slight look of surprise on his face and thanked me.

The point of the message is that the chocolate is the gospel. And depending on how we treat it influences the fact that other people will want it or not. When we invite others to get to know the church it should be done in a manner well thought out, not as a casual invite.

The gospel is the most precious thing in the world. The more that i have shared this message the more i have come to realize how special that it is. 

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

Love,

Elder Rice

September 5, 2016

E aí gente!

So last week, and the week before that i think i mentioned a little bit about the fact that this new area is pretty different for me and i am having to adapt to the way things are here. Well that still hasn´t changed, BUT, and that's a big but, the Lord is blessing us A LOT! 

Elder Nunes and i have some incredible families to teach, and i will tell their names:

Carla, Nelson, Joao, and Camila: Super awesome family that requested missionaries to help them out. Have some unfortunate family problems, but they are loving the gospel and accepted baptism for the 17th of this month!

Sherlocks and family: Another incredible family, we have been teaching them for about two weeks but unfortunately it looks like the only one who has real interest and desire to learn more is one of the sons in the family sherlocks who is 20 years old.

Everton, Ronilda, Walysson, and Vitória: Great people, with unfortunate addictions. Everton drinks and has used other illegal drogs. Being guided by the hand of God, we found his Saturday night wasted at a public park. Gave him some much needed advice, helped him get back home and face the consequences of his actions. And luckily Sunday morning him and his family were at church with us. Everton wants a better life, and wants to be a better husband and father. This week were are going to invite a family from the ward to do a family night at his house. Its gonna be great!

Jonas, Suelem and their three kids: Jonas is the man. We met him and his family a week ago, and i got to tell you, i love this guy. He is hilarious, super nice and always wants  to give us something to eat. Unfortunately he hasn´t been to church yet with us, but his is dying to go and get to know more about what we believe.

Other than the work, i have also started to learn piano. Memorizing the Living Christ in a little more than one day i realized that the spirit i have as a missionary allows me to learn much easier. I have always wanted to learn to play the piano so i decided to give it a go. I'm not professional yet, but i have started to get the right hand down, and i´ve memorized all of the notes. Man being a missionary is so great, you live such a blessed life!

Love all of you and wish you all a great week!

Elder Rice

August 8, 2016

So there is only on thing in the mission that I have learned not to like... And that´s transfers!

So far the most difficult thing for me has been to arrive in an area, work hard with my companion, find amazing investigators, gain the complete trust of the members, and make incredible friendship, many of which I am sure will perpetuate long after the grave, and then out of the blue have to change and go to another area.

To say I love the people here in São Mateus doesn´t even begin to describe what I feel for these incredible members. I have found, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers, who treat me as if I was there own flesh and blood. They trust me and love me. It truly is an incredible feeling when you gain the trust and respect of others because of your dedicated service.

Tonight my companion and I are going to invite all the members here in the group to meet up at Tânia's house. She is a member here in the group and out of everybody here, she is without a doubt the one that most loves me. She is constantly telling me to marry her daughter, but that is another story to tell... I want to leave a special message with all the members here in the group reminding them of the importance  to have their own personal commitment with God. To promise that we will be faithful and true no matter what the circumstance so that one day we can happily enter in to the rest of our Father!

Oh and you might be wondering where it is that I will be going. I will be going to an area called Sorriso, it is about 6 hours from where I am right now and I will be the companion of Elder Nunes. I think he will be finishing his mission this transfer or the next one. We will serve together as zone leaders!

One more super awesome detail. Isailde´s son Vitor was baptized this Saturday! And on Sunday during testimony meeting Isailde got up in the front to bare her testimony about the church and thank everyone for their support. Isailde is such an incredible person and so ready to be baptized, she just needs to get married, but her husband, Manuel is being a little apprehensive...  

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

Elder Rice

August 1, 2016

Hi Everyone,

I hope that the fame of Isailde is growing between everyone that has read my emails these last couple of weeks, because she is the best!!

Last night she made a FEAST, and I mean a full out banquet for me and my companion. Last week  I mentioned that while I have been in Brazil I have learned to love fish. So Isailde decided to make a fish feast for us and a bunch of other people as well.

Isailde made a fish stew called muqeuca for us, and that sweet deliciousness has got to be one of the greatest things that has every touched my little white American lips in my entire life. It was SOOO GOOOD!!! I am pretty sure Isailde has a secret goal to send me home fat hahaha. And I think she is succeeding!

Other than that incredible food party, the week was incredible as well. Its always a pleasure to see how the members slowly change as they start to feel more of the missionary spirit. Before I came here the members were used to having an investigator a church, maybe once a month or so. But now that they have seen all the people coming to visit and learn more about the church, they have all opened up so much to missionary work, and it always seems to be the greatest concern of the members to  help us as much as possible! Needless to say its pretty great.

This week we meet a woman named Rose, who is one of these new incredible investigators that we have. We met her knocking doors and set up a return appointment and invited one of the sisters in the ward to go with us. As we were getting to know Rose and explaining about how our message could change her life, she opened up to us and told us her life story. And man was it rough. I was amazed by the fact that she was able to remain so strong during her whole life and keep her faith in God even though she had been the victim of countless injustices.  My heart was touched with a feeling of extreme gratefulness that in my life I have never had to experience  such circumstances because I was born and raised in a family centered in Christ. I owe a lot to my family, mostly my parents (shout out to you mom and dad for being awesome!!)

But it really is true families are a sacred unit ordained by God to provide love and protection for His children. That is as long as the families obey the gospel. When individuals and families decide to ignore God´s commandments there are always consequences that follow, and unfortunately, as in the case of Rose, these consequences can be extreme that leave emotional, and physical scars for the rest of your life.

Let be grateful for the simple teaching of the savior and give heed to his words. Its worth the price of any sacrifice.

``Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.`` John 14:6
``And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.`` Mark 10:29-30

Love you all and hope you have an incredible week!!

Elder Rice

July 25, 2016

Alright so finally I think i might have had a week that wasn't super, incredible, fantastic. But it was still good!

The only down side of this week was that my companion Elder Silveira (he changed his name from Diniz to Silveira a couple of weeks ago) got sick. So we had to make a few trips to the hospital to see what was up. Luckily, though it was nothing just a slight stomach infection he got from something that he had eaten. It is actually extremely common that new missionaries get sick like that, it's pretty much just the Brazil Cuiabá mission saying ``Welcome to the hottest mission in Brazil!``

I think in some of the other emails I had mentioned about an investigator, Isailde, and her family. Well,  I  have to let you guys know she is seriously one of the nicest people I have ever met in my life. She won´t  stop giving us stuff and making us food. She is also straight up gold. This week we talked to her about the Word of Wisdom and challenged her to stop drinking coffee, which we thought would be a real challenge since she had a habit of drinking 1 1/2 -  2 liters of coffee a day. But, three days after we saw her we asked how it was going (on stopping to drink coffee) and she said that since we talked to her she hadn't drank one more drop! So that was pretty awesome. She wants to get baptized, but the  problem is that like pretty much all other Brazilians she isn't married... but its a small problem she is totally willing to do everything necessary to follow Christ so I am sure it will all go smoothly!

Seeing Isaildes willingness to be obedient really shows her faith and it reminds me of a scripture in Moroni 7:25

``Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ.``

Faith is much more that a passive belief, it is what motivates us to always lay hold upon all good things. I love being a missionary because i can see how the truths of the gospel motivate others to exercise their faith and strive to always have good works!

Love you all and hope you guys have a great week!

Elder Rice

July 18, 2016

Hi Everyone,

This is gonna be a quick one!

This week I ate a pork´s head.

Also, my companion and I marked the baptism of an awesome family.

And an investigator named Isailde gave me and my companion about 2 kilos of cheese and ham. Which is super expensive and she is pretty darn poor. This woman loves us to death, she is literally always giving us stuff.

And I had an inspiring training with the president.

The church is true, the greatest joy in the world comes when we share the gospel. 

``Now the joy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength; and he fell again to the earth.Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness.`` alma 27:17-18

This is the source of true joy. Seek it!

Love,

Elder Rice

June 27, 2016

TRANSFERS!!!

So today was transfers again, and man they pass by so flippin fast!! But as always it was good news! I will be staying here in the group São Mateus and I  will be be training another new missionary! It has been 6 months that I have been training so far and I got to say, I love it! When new missionaries come in to the field th have an awesome fire and it makes the days go by much faster and usually much better as well. But as excited as I  am to be staying her to train, it makes me sad that E. Novaes will have to go to another area. I think the worst thing about being a missionary is that you make some many good friendships with people and then have to cut ties so quickly.

This week was great as well and Sunday was fantastic. I wish that  I could transport all of you to Brazil so that you could participate with one sacrament meeting here in the São Mateus group. The meetings are done in a public school that is old, run down and full of half broken chairs and tables, but there spirit there is the strongest that I have ever felt in my life. It seriously is incredible.

I won´t know who my new companion will be until Tuesday or Wednesday. with the arriving missionaries the president usually doesn´t assign your companion until after he interviews all of them and decides who will be the best for each other.

But I am super excited, the work is good, the weather is shockingly good, (its not melt your face off hot) and I am sure my new companion will be awesome!

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

Love,

Elder Rice

June 6, 2016

Hey Everybody!!

Good week, great area, and my companion is a great kid from Brazil! What else could you want in life!

Really, my companion Elder Novaes is pretty great! He is 19 years old and is from the state of Bahia. Baianos have a reputation of being super lazy... luckily though Elder Novaes is a hard worker and another upside is that he loves making and keeping records. So any paper work that we have to do I just hand off to him! Honestly I got to say that is probably one of his greatest traits, because I dread making records and filling out reports...

Another upside to the week is all the work that we have. The mission is easily the absolute busiest time of my life.  Since I have been on the mission I think I can count on one hand the hours that I have been able to ``rest`` even on p-days we are busy. 

Luckily though because of the hard work my companion and I are putting in we are able to see some results already. It is always incredible to see how the gospel has the power to change peoples lives. I think I am always amazed and the powerful peace it can bring in to the lives of people. It doesn't matter if you are a member, recently baptized, non-member, young, or old,  when if live the gospel and strive to be more obedient to the commandments the quality of your life improves! You feel more peace and have greater self-confidence.

When Christ promised us his peace is was promised upon this condition of obedience.

``Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.`` (john 14:26)

``There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated. And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.`` (D&C 130:20-21)

I am loving this new area and all the people we are working with. I have already seen so many incredible things happen and I know that there are many more greater things still to come!

Love,

Elder Rice

May 30, 2016

Hey Everybody!!!

Another super awesome, incredibly good week!! 

And all of it started Monday night! 

I think in the last email i had mentioned how much i LOVED the area that i was in, and that i was honestly a little bit heart broken to be leaving there. Because of how much I loved the people in that area I arranged to have a little going away party so that i could say bye to everyone in the ward. So I asked Clarismudo and Patricia if i could do it at their house and they gladly accepted. That night there were about 25 members, less actives and investigators  with whom I had worked closely with over the past 5 months (who were in the Imperial Ward). Unfortunately,  the bishop wasn't able to make it because he travels and was out of town... but any way, this night was probably the most special night of my entire life. Before I had gotten in to the Imperial Ward I had resolved to make a real difference in this area and be a tool by which the spirit could touch the hearts of all. And last Monday night I knew that I had done exactly that. With every one together I shared a special message thanking them for the chance to serve and for helping me. Then I talked about the importance that all of us work diligently to strengthen our testimonies so that we never stray from the truth that we know. It was a special message and the spirit was strong. After I sat down all that were present began to comment and thank me for the work that I had done as well. As I heard their ``thank yous``, and watched them be moved to tears, I felt such an incredible sensation of love and I could not believe that I could have made a difference in the lives of these special people.

It was the sweetest moment of my life and something that I will never forget. And it came simply because I was obedient. 

All of us can have these incredible feelings if we to are obedient to the Lord and strive to always be in the service of those around us.

I love you all and the next week I will share with you guys more about my new area and my companion!!

Love,

Elder Rice

May 24, 2016

Hey Everybody!!

Alright this week was AWESOME!!!!!!!! until today and then it got a little less awesome. But still a great week!

This week was so great because we were able to see some incredible success among investigators and members. I want to share with you guys one success story!

So it all starts out that Sunday when my companion and I were going to an investigator's house to go to church with us when a little old lady passed us on the street, stopped us and said ``hey, I want you boys to do a family night at my house this week`` at first i was super confused, because i was thinking, ``who is she and why does she want me to go to her house??`` but after talking for just a bit I recognized her as a member of the ward. Her name is Irmã Francisca and she is 63 years old, but for here age she is flippin hilarious!! 

Later in the week, i think it was on Tuesday, we went to her house to plan with her when, and how she wants to do the family night. But she wasn´t there... BUT and this is a much better but, her granddaughter, Karita, who is inactive in the church was there!!! As we conversed with her at the gate I asked her if we could come in to share a small message with her. She happily accepted and let us in.

As we got to talking she shared with us why she has gone less active in the church but expressed the fact that she still had a testimony of the truth and even asked us to give her a blessing. We shared a spiritual message with and testified to her that there is nothing to lose when you keep the commandments. I could tell that she felt the spirit and liked the message.

That Saturday night we had a family night with Francisca, karita, her other granddaughters and a couple other members! and it was so good!! Then that Sunday she went to church and loved it. She said that all of the messages were for her!

Sunday afternoon we stopped by their house again to find all of them sleeping, other than Irmã Francisca. She talked to us and thanked about 100x for helping her granddaughter come to church. She said they had talked the night before and Karita expressed the fact that she knows she needs to go back to church and stay strong!

I can not tell you how sweet it was to her this little old lady thank us for simply doing our part. Also you guys have no idea how much I love Irmã francisca!!! She is the BEST!!

The week got slightly less awesome today when I found out I would be transfered... honestly it was like a knife in the heart. As much I love sweet little old Irmã Francisca I love this ward and the members here even more. The bishop here has treated me like his own brother and taught me so much. And I even have a black mom! But I know that in this new area there will be even more chances for me help the kingdom of God grow!!

Love,

Elder Rice

May 18, 2016

Hey Everybody!

Yup this week was awesome! Just like the one before it and the one before that and the one before that! Its tough to have a bad week as a missionary. I mean there definately are some low points in the day, but in the end you are out here doing the greatest service possible receiveing blessing upon blessings. So even though there are low points, all the good greatly out weighs it!

Speaking of lows and highs though, I will share a pretty tough low point we had this week and then an awesome high!

So on Monday night we went to the house of one of our investigators, Fernando, he has already been to church a few times and brought all of his kids to particpate with him as well, but the biggest thing impeding his progress was his wife. Even though there were some barriers stopping him from progressing he had already accepted baptism and was preparing to be baptized on the 28th. So when we went there monday night we were planning on following up with him to see how he has been doing with quiting smoking and drinking. But shortly after we started talking to him he let us know that he had planned on following his wife in the baptist church... He had accepted baptism, planned a day to get baptized and told us that he felt the truth of what we teach and that he knew the church was true, but unfortunately because of fear he decided to give up on that...

That night when we got home it felt like there was a knife in my heart. 

But it still wasn´t a bad week because the next day we left our house knowing the truth of our message and that there were other people waiting and ready to accept the truth.

And that is where Antônio comes in! Recently we have been visiting a less active member, Wender. And on this day when we went to go visit him we found his brother-in-law, Antônio, at his house. Another member of Wender´s family told us, ``oh talk to Antônio, he´s crazy to get to know your guys´ chruch`` 

So we taught him, he came to church , and loved it. he told us he is looking for ``the TRUTH`` and he wants to join a church to stay in it. My companion and i were happy to tell him that he has found exactly what it is that he is looking for and that we will be going back to his house to tell him even more about it!

That along with several other miraculous opportunites allowed us to have 7 new people at church and several more less active members. There is nothing better that a full sacrament meeting!

Remember the worth of all souls is great in these eyes of God and we need to help as many as we can!

Love you all!