Hello everyone! This week has been lovely and i can't wait to tell you all about it! So here's the Top 5:)

1. MUD FUN: Ok so there are these things in Iowa called Level B roads. Basically they are dirt roads. And when it rains they become mud roads. Lemme tell you that only people with monster trucks or idiots venture on level B roads and only the dumbest of the dumb attempt it after rain. So one day we were driving to a dinner appt. outside of town and we thought it would be cool to take a shortcut down a level B road. Well it had POURED all day and the road was pure mud. Pure mud is slippery. Like ice. Luckily we were in between a corn field and a soy bean field so there was nothing to crash into. But like idiots we were sliding around and got completely stuck in the mud. So we took our shoes off and ventured into the mud. We had two ice scrapers in the car and used them to hack at the mud on the tires. After about half an hour we were free. We promptly turned around and went the normal way. The good part was we were not late to dinner and it was a super fun evening. Seriously there is never a dull moment with Rice and Moses!

2. SERVICE: So they're is a member in our Branch that lives with her sister and another friend and her nephew and the friends daughter. Crowded house. So they are also hoarders. But they have been trying to get the house organized and clean. (without actually throwing anything away) Well being the service oriented girls that we are we go over once a week and help clean for 2 hours. Lemme tell you it is the funnest two hours of the week! We clean and laugh and play with all the random stuff! Its a good time! This week Hna. Moses covered me in blankets while she cleaned and after a few moments asked if i was hot. Duh! Then she loudly announced " Guys, My Rice is overcooked!" haha we are ususally pretty hyper when were over there. At one point Alyssa told us " You girls need medication!" The moral of the story is: cleaning can be fun!

3. STUDIES: WE HAD STUDIES ON THE ROOF!!! 'nuff said. 

4. FINDING: Its a hard knocking life for us! Its a hard knocking life for us! Instead of lessons we get yelled at! Instead of investigators we get bashers! Its a hard knocking life! 

5. LANCE: So the other night we went to a Less actives house to check up on him and suprise! he had moved! But his landlord was there fixing up the place and we was so cool! We sat on his porch for like 2 hours answering tons of questions about the church. It was a really good conversation and he asked a lot of really good questions and we got to hear his life story and it was really cool. Hopefully he becomes an investigator!

So thats all for this week, oh and btw i wont be sending pics this week cause i forgot my camera! Sorry! But hey I LOVE AND MISS YOU GUYS!!!! Until next week...xoxoxoxo Hermana Rice

I have no clue what to write about this week. Nothing happened that is new or exciting. Ok i guess i will tell you about all the nothingness....Enjoy?....

This week me and Hermana Moses have been doing a lot of knocking. We have 2 investigators currently and we need teach more people so we have knocked everywhere! We have run out of streets to knock so what do we do? We knock them again! Oh my lanta let me tell you about yards in Iowa. They are soooo overdecorated! Its like a Home and Gardens magazine just threw up all over Iowa! The more lawn decorations the better! And don't even get me started on the excessive use of wind chimes! You only need one! But hey, there is no such thing as a boring lawn here! 

Oooh now I'll talk about the cats! "Everyone and their cat" is not an expression here. It is truth. Hermana Moses says that everyone is Iowa is either Catholic or Cat-holics! So true! And i have made it my mission to be-friend every cat that we meet! So far it has been a success, the only cat that still wont be friends with me is our investigator Sue's cat Nigel. He is pure evil but we shall be snuggle buddies before long. My favorite cat that i have met, in case you were wondering, is Angel. I super sweet Main Coon. Which basically means huge, fluffy, and cuddly! So many cats!!! Iowa is the home of the Crazy Cat Lady and i love it! 

Oh and wanna hear about the most awkward moment ever?! I'll tell you. So sometimes we go out of our apartment the back way which leads to a sketchy stairway into an alley. So there is usually no one there. One morning i was feeling particularly princess-y and decided to sing as i burst through the door and down the stairs. I chose to sing Good Morning Baltimore but substituting Washington. Well i burst out the door and sang at the top of my lungs GOOD MORNING.......and i hear a Good Morning! back. There was i man in the alley. He was very amused and i was happy to entertain him that morning. It was very awkward but as missionaries we are told to Embrace the Awkward! So i do!

Ok now for my newest segment in my emails: GUESS WHAT MOSES DID THIS WEEK? Because She does so many crazy things that it deserves to be mentioned. Lets start with Zombie Pens. She took a pen that was dead and customized her own ink using highlighter and pen ink and made a color never before seen before! She calls it zombie blood. She also did companionship inventory as Elder Sidious (Star Wars), and she made popcorn with Pam. Because Hna. Moses is a popcorn snob and wont let me buy microwave popcorn cause she has three different kinds of amish popcorn that she makes. Anyway i wanted popcorn the other night and we were out of oil. Well any normal person would just melt butter and use that but that is way to simple for Hna. Moses. Instead she uses Pam the cooking spray and makes popcorn. It was still delicious so success!

We have come up with the Iowa Circle of Life. Here it is. When we die, we become the corn, and the squirrels eat the corn, and we eat the squirrels. So you see, we are all connected in the great circle of Iowa. Speaking of Iowa, have you ever wondered what the view is like driving down the road? Lemme tell you, it goes a little like this: Corn Corn Corn Corn Corn Soy beans Soy beans Soy beans tractor Corn Corn Corn tractor Corn Corn Corn Soy beans Corn Squirrel! Corn Corn Soy beans Tractor Corn Corn Squirrel Corn corn bush Corn Soy beans Tree Corn Squirrel Corn corn corn Tractor Corn. With little towns somewhere in the mix. IOWA 

Ok I think i have rambled on long enough so were gonna call this good. I hope you got some kind of amusement out of this and if not, you need to lighten up. Anywho, LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL!!!!!! Until next time...xoxoxo Sister Rice

THIS WEEK WAS BORING! So i am just going to send some pics. Enjoy!

1. There are 2 kinds of people in this world, those who eat cucumbers and those who carve the life of Jesus into them. Hermana Moses is the latter. This cucumber features the Life of Christ including Birth, Calling apostles, Sermon on the Mt., Crucifixion, and Resurrection. #talent

2.Hermana Moses taped my shoes to the ceiling. 

3. My District. Aren't we adorable?!

Oh my lanta this has been the best week of my mission so far!! So much to say and so little time to say it! I hope i can get it all down.Here are my Top 5, Enjoy:)

1. INVESTIGATOR UPDATE: So our main investigator is Melissa. She is in her 40's and has to cats that we love to play with when we go over. We are not sure if she is all there but she absolutely loves learning and just soaks up everything we say. We showed her a movie called the Lamb of God and she loved it so much that she wanted to keep it and watch it over and over again! So we got her a copy to keep. Her baptism date is Aug. 22 although that might not happen cause she is living with her boyfriend and won't stop living with him until they are either married or broken up. So hopefully one of those things happens. We just love Melissa, she is the sweetest thing!

2. NAUVOO: We finally got to go to Pageant and it was amazing!! First of all because i got to meet Hermana Moses' family! Her Grandpa and Aunt and 2 cousins play in the Pipe Band and so obviously we went and said hi to them. It was really emotional and even i teared up a bit. The coolest part was that her Grandpa brought an extra set of bagpipes and Hermana Moses got to play with the band! Oh i forgot to mention she has played bagpipes at Pageant for 6 years! So she was reunited with her family for a night and man it was amazing to watch! She was just glowing! I have never seen her so happy! She calls Nauvoo home and the bagpipe band her family. I talked with her family for a bit and they are all awesome! Super crazy like our family! It was a really special night.

3. NAUVOO cont.: The Bagpipe band was only half of the amazing night that was Pageant. The second half was that BOTH of us got to translate!!! It was soooooo awesome!! I don't even know how to describe it. Just an amazing experience! The only thing was we didn't get to actually see much of the pageant because we had to keep up with what everyone was saying but what we did see was super cool! We DEFINITELY have to go when i get back cause wow! It was an amazing , super duper fantastic night!!

4.and 5. CALLED TO SERVE: So here in Iowa and apparently in other states besides Utah they have this thing for the youth where they get called on mini missions and get set apart and everything and get to spend a weekend with full time missionaries. So we got two new companions this weekend and they came with us and we taught lessons and went knocking and had meals with members and just had an authentic missionary experience! It was so fun! My new companion was Sister Clemons. We had a lot in common. She took french in HS and loves Paris and Taco Bell and is a total fashionista like me. It was really fun! So we didn't have a car so we had to walk everywhere in the blazing humidity which was awful but we kept ourselves entertained and then we got totally lost and had no clue where we were and had to call a member to come rescue us! It was so funny! Other than that we did pretty good! It was sooooo fun!!!!! Such a great weekend and we learned a lot from each other and its crazy how much you can get to know and love someone in just a few days! Definitely an unforgettable experience!

So yes this week was fantastic! I can't even accurately describe the awesomeness!! But basically it was the best week of my mission so far!!! Anywho that is all! Please stay tuned for pictures!!!! LOVE AND MISS YOU GUYS TONS!!! Until next time...xoxoxo Hermana Rice

​Hermana Moses and Sister Gray! And Sister Clemons and Me!!!

​Hermana Moses playing with some of her family! 

PS i can't get the one of me and Hna Moses together at pageant to load so i will send it next week:)

This week was super boring and nothing really happened so this week i am just going to send some pics. Enjoy!

Hermana Moses really likes ice cream...and sometimes one cone is not enough.

Companionship selfie!