Dee's a Hero...

Dee has always been my hero! He can do absolutely anything! I cannot even begin to enumerate all the whims I come up with that he turns to reality...living room tile, pizza oven...and he can repair anything!!! Yep, he is my hero. He has always been the kind of guy that can see a problem and looks immediately for a solution (Yes, ladies, that means I have to constantly remind my self not to 'vent' to him. He doesn't listen, he solves). At home. And at work. He has been at Honeywell for most of 33 years. He began as a machinist trainee...then a machinist, a tool room machinist, a Six Sigma Blackbelt, and on up to his present position as a Supplier Development Engineer, where he works with outside suppliers to get airplane engine parts to assembly and engines to their contracted purchasers. A lot of problems come up. And, not to brag, he can look at a part...and see what the solution is. He did this in December, so that 15 multi-million dollar engines could ship on time. And, he was awarded the Chairman's Award for doing such. It is really a rare award...only two people in his group have ever received it. Honeywell is multi-national. His pic was on the website for a week. He received a $500 bonus (after taxes, enough to buy his dream meat slicer on Craigslist). He met the heads of the company. He was invited to special meals and celebrations. He was awarded this.

Truly is a hero...in every respect.

Congrats, honey. We are so very proud!!!

Elder Rice Mail July 29, 2012

Hey family,
Weeks go by so fast here. It’s weird. So today we get the transfer calls, so we are both nervous to see what happens. 

We have an "investigator" (he has been meeting missionaries since 1991)- we hiked
wit him a couple weeks ago- Well he called today to see who is leaving. (Idk how he knows this stuff!) He told me he hopes I stay here longer. It felt cool to see that someone likes me here! Haha jkjk. 

So I had to give a talk at church again (with 20 members, I need to speak a lot apparently) It was only 5 mins. so that’s good, and  in Korean, I read 3 scriptures; that usually takes me a while haha.  I talked about charity and how it relates to missionary work.  Then, our whole ward did something super cool. The bishop asked us to bring a bunch of Book of Mormons to church and during sunday school,  we gave one to every member and they wrote their testimonies in them.  So cool. Danget I wrote a bunch and the computer did something and deleted half my email ugh. 

Our stake has this program called Easy Member Missionary work. It has a list of things members can do to do missionary work  like put a picture of Christ up at the place they work and testimony in Book of Mormon, etc. I will try and translate it and send you the list next week.

I have been praying a lot lately to get faith that Heavenly Father can speak through me, and this last week, I wasn’t scared to teach. I wasn’t a perfect teacher, but I wasn’t afraid so that’s awesome, I  think. It’s so amazing when the Lord answers our prayers. 

This week was awesome. We found 4 new investigators. Its so cool, like  they are just coming from everywhere, mostly with English interest, (we have a 30-30 program: 30 min English; 30 min Gospel) and its cool a lot of people in Korea that get baptized start with English interest, so this is awesome to find 4 in one week. 

The family we teach that want to get baptized, there is an unseen force  messing with us so we can’t teach them. Every week, their work schedule  gets changed so we cant meet them. But we keep persevering. haha.

Hmm what else this week… Oh at church yesterday, we were sitting and church was about to start, and in walks this less active family that we have been visiting, for a while. They haven’t come to church my whole time being here. I was so happy-like filled with joy. It was amazing and I thought Heavenly Father must feel the same way right now. Then our amazing bishop stands up and has one son (Priest)bless  the Sacrament and the other (deacon) pass the Sacrament. Soooo  awesome. I was so happy. Our ward is so awesome! I hurt my wrist (I  don’t know how) but it really hurt to move, so I put an ace bandage on it  so it would not hurt as much and every  member of the ward asked me what  happened. They are so caring I love them. haha. 

I saw the moon this week, which is one of the pics (the black sky and the white light is the moon). You see the moon everyday, but here with the pollution and clouds I never see the moon, but I did this week so cool.

 

So also, only one person showed up to English class this week and he said  “shall we have outside English class?" So we drove to the river by here, a huge river (the river was wider than Woods Canyon Lake, haha). It was so awesome and beautiful. Super cool; I loved it. I’ll try to send  pics-- i forgot my camera so we took pics with our phone.

So, spiritual message this week. I read in the scriptures this morning and an elder gave a spiritual thought about it a couple weeks ago in district meeting. 
Book of Mormon Helaman 6:37-38. 

 37 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did hunt the band of robbers of Gadianton; and they did preach the word of God among the more wicked part of them, insomuch that this band of robbers was utterly destroyed from among the Lamanites.
 38 And it came to pass on the other hand, that the Nephites did build them up and support them, beginning at the more wicked part of them, until they had overspread all the land of the Nephites, and had seduced the more part of the righteous until they had come down to believe in their works and partake of their spoils, and to join with them in their secret murders and combinations.

So background to this scripture: Nephites were good people, Lamanites were bad. Then the Gospel was preached to the Lamanites and they became good, and the Nephites got prideful and turned bad. Gadianton was an  evil person, and he and his group of robbers wanted power and did secret  evil things, like murder and other things to put themselves in power.

So we can relate this scripture to ourselves. We are all imperfect and we all have unrighteousness in us. When we have that unrighteousness in us, we have two choices: we can hunt it our of ourselves and get rid of it (study scriptures and pray and become more righteous) and get rid of the bad thing in us; or we can build it up and help it grow until it overtakes us and we become worse and worse.Helaman is a great book,  by the way. I stared it yesterday, and today I read about Nephi  and Lehi teaching the Lamanites, and they taught with the Holy Spirit and it was so strong in them that they baptized 8
thousand Lamanites; people that just before that, they had been at war with. How  amazing! 8 thousand people. And I want to teach with the  Spirit like they did, and, if I can, I can baptize lots. Actually a member of the Seventy promised us at mission tour that we if we teach with the Spirit, we can baptize hundreds. Wow so awesome.  

Well I will attach photos and go.I love you all! Take care of Jessica.

Elder Rice and his first district

Bye family,
Elder Rice

P.S, pics, the one of me on the park bench: I look super cool in it,

 and the mannequin was on the side of the road to direct traffic, (it has a car battery at the bottom of it) and it waves the light stick to direct traffic. Instead of paying some one to stand there, they use  a mannequin. It was so funny. 

I love Korea!

Van Piano Delivery - Long Delivery!

Allison posted on her blog that she loved Adam playing the piano...and he is so good already...and that she wanted all the children to learn to play the piano. Alas, the cute fake job we gave them gave out, and so they were driving to church and back for Adam to practice. So, Papa, Craigslist Addict, got on ...and found a pretty awesome piano for a pretty cheap price. Allison, who NEVER ever ever asks for anything was beyond thrilled and vowed to never want another Christmas or birthday gift again if we could get this (she only has to get through 2 birthdays and Christmases). We loaded it on the trailer, got it home, took out the van rear seat, put stuff on the engine hoist, and got that thing in the back with a few inches to spare. (Honestly , I thought Dee was crazy...and, if we lived in a normal neighborhood, instead of on an acre, our neighbors would have testified as well.) We got it in...the transmission went cuckoo (not piano fault) and we had to get the leak repaired. We left the piano inside, and didn't tell the repair place (he really wondered, after we told him, why our van was so stinkin' heavy)

So, the trip was on...up early Saturday, back on Sunday (Mike works weekends, so we leave after church, right when he gets home from church meetings, so the kids can have Daddy time, and daddy can sleep before work...

Ethan and Cam brought a table and chairs over...really nice...that belonged to her Grandfather...such a treasure. We gathered all the stuff that didn't fit in their old, smaller apartment, and loaded in to fill their much larger house!

Off we went. Prayers made the van a/c work well, both there and back. And, funny thing, the mileage wasn't any different with the load up, than with the empty vehicle back.

Here are the pic...enjoy

 Adam asked to borrow my camera...and I think he did a doggone good job. So, following in his uncle's footsteps...

The Photo Stylings of Adam Wilkins...

Mike was barbeque-ing ...he is really a master at grilling! ... and so Papa and Josh helped prepare the corn on the cob for the dinner with us, Lee Adelman (Mike's cousin) and the missionaries...

She was quite the model!

Corn on the Cob, all buttered, seasoned and wrapped up. Let me tell you, they were awesome. And I never eat corn on the cob...but these...magnificent!

 

Joshy watering the new plants Papa had grown and brought up for  Allison and Mike...basil...peppers...

I am sure they were VERY well watered...

Mommy working in the kitchen. The watermelon was so tasty.

 Back to Grammy Pics. After dinner, Adam, Grace, Josh, and I had the BEST game of Hide and Seek...ever. It was Epic! That house is sooooo much better to hide in that the two bedroom apartment. Joshy was really into it...though it was tough to hide when he was counting...he only gave us to "6"...I guess maybe that's all a less-than-3 year old knows.

Adam playing the piano. He was amazing...and he played it all the time. Papa was sooooo happy!

Joshy looking for his shoes on Sunday morning. He didn't want to wear his dress shoes. He wanted to wear his sandals. We compromised with his black Crocs...and he was adorable. 

Papa puzzle time right before we left...

The trip was fast, furious, and fun! So glad!!!

A Modern Day Pioneer Trial

We have been having CRAZY vehicle troubles. Thing after thing. We planned to go to Vegas, with a load to Allison and Mike...and our van transmission started leaking. That was too much for two old folks like us, so off we headed to the shop. While our vehicle was being repaired, our only remaining vehicle, the Jeep, decided to go crazy...It was quite an experience...(one that still lingers...as of August 19, the Jeep STILL does not work and the part is in transit here) As we stood, night after night, in the intense Arizona heat, trying to fix that car, I thought about those pioneers...animals getting sick, injuries, wheels breaking, bad weather, cold weather, and no one to call on, but the Lord, for help, I am so thankful for them. They didn't give up, as I am ready to do with this vehicle. They worked, and walked, and sang and prayed, and came out to a new land in the West to start a new community...and a new way of life. I could go into an air conditioned house, and sleep in a dry bed when my wheels weren't working out. The van is our only transportation, and it eats a lot of gas, and is big like a covered wagon...but I am thankful for it. 

Cleaning fuel injectors...for the first time. After this, he rigged up a battery and made them actually inject. Though he has cleaned them three times (and I dare say we could eat off them fuel injectors now) the Jeep does not work. 

Pioneer Day

Pioneer Day a la Phoenix Arizona is NOT much of a celebration. No parades. No fireworks. No holiday. Like Utah. So, I had my own special celebration: Pioneer Chicken Stew (so Kayty would eat it...beef-hater) and green corn bread. Yep, Dee grew green corn, we dried it, I ground it, and made corn bread. Alas, the first time I use a recipe, I don't defer from the original, and it was too salty...so Beau got the rest...but the family suffered through.

This silly pic uploaded crazy...Just lean your head to the right and it looks awesome!

Kayty made up for the saltiness by adding peanut butter and a layer of mini-chocolate chips. Not very pioneer-ish in my opinion! 

Elder Rice Mail for 23 July 2012

Hey, family,
How is it going. I’m good. We found 3 new nvestigators this week. Super awesome. One was a newspaper reporter and he interviewed us and I turned his questions into lessons haha (all in English). So hopefully the newspaper he puts out helps a lot of people get interest! Also the family we teach (the wife is Philippine) we have been trying to get them to have interest in baptism again. So everyday we texted them scriptures about baptism, and we met them and we went over the baptismal interview questions, and were about to set a date with them when the husband said. "I want you to make me a schedule to be baptized." He said, “Before I wasn’t sure if I wanted baptism but now I know I want it and need it.” And he said he wants it because he knows it will help his family. And the wife was talking about their son someday serving a mission! Sooo awesome.  Missionaries have been meeting them for like a year, but all of a sudden they want to be baptized. It’s so exciting. 

I didn’t teach much in Korean this week. I couldn’t speak hardly. I wasn’t very focused on it. My mind was elsewhere, but I’m really trying to focus better now. I am understanding Korean better now though. My companion was talking to the bishop’s son in law, and I said, “Oh he served in your hometown when you were younger,” and the bishop’s son in law said “Oh you understood.” I was like, “Hey I did!” So cool. We had a ward party at the bishop’s house last night, and most of the ward showed up. Well that is easy to say because there are only 20 people, but ya pretty cool. We ate meat, ha-ha like the picture I sent with the leaf, so good. ha-ha. Remember at home how I hated watermelon, still don’t like it but Koreans love it. I have eaten more here in the 3 months in Korea than I have in my whole life. ha-ha :l  
hmm.
It stopped raining this week and the rain took away a lot of the pollution and I saw the sun, very interesting. I thought the sun didn’t exist. ha-ha. But now it’s so hot. I am always drenched in sweat, ha-ha. I’m so happy we have 2 fans each in our apartment because we don’t have a/c. So I spray my head with water at night and lay in front of the fan ha-ha.

We did service at a place that feeds elderly people that don’t have food otherwise. So I helped set up and served the people while they ate. They all loved saying hi to me and stuff in English . Love Americans ha-ha. And other people that were serving asked about what we are and do, so this is awesome; we are serving others and finding people to
teach! (so killing 3 birds with 2 stones right.)

So the missionary program for the first 12 weeks for a greenie (new missionary) we have an extra hour of companion study and we work out of a book they gave us and we have assignments. This week’s assignment was I am supposed to take the lead in all planning and teaching.  So much work! Before I just did what Elder Lee told me to do, but  now I had to plan and teach. So tiring, like really I wanted to lay in the back of a truck in the road and sleep. ha-ha.

So we decided to go to Papa Johns here to try it. because they have a  free salad bar. So we ordered pizza, 17$ and ya, ate salad bar and they gave us the pizza: it was smaller than a dinner plate - like so little, haha so I ate lots of salad bar, (if you go to Korea, never go to Papa Johns) go to Pizza School, that’s the best. You can get a 5 dollar pizza that tastes really good. I sent Jessica a flyer from Pizza School… Did she show you? Pizza School is where we go on p-day. They have super cool pizza, and its cheap. My
favorite it the potato pizza, but ya they have super good pizza toppings I never though of before, like potato ya.

Tell mom thank-you for the stuff about the spider, now I’m more scared.The funnel web spider can bite through fingernails and shoes. What! When I was young you promised me if I wore shoes outside nothing bad could hurt me! Um not true. ( I remember when I got a sticker in my foot you would say “Wow it went through your shoes and socks and  everything.”)

Spiritual thought for the week
I studied hope this week. I came upon a scripture I have seen a 100 times before but never really studied it like I did last week.

Moroni 7: 45-48
 45 And acharity suffereth long, and is bkind, and cenvieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily dprovoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
 46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—
 47 But acharity is the pure blove of Christ, and it endurethcforever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

This is about charity because charity and hope are connected. But ya,  so this scripture, if you look at every quality in it:
suffereth long
kind
envieth not
not puffed up (humble)
seeketh not her own (selfless)
not easily provoked (temperate)
THINKETH NO EVIL
rejoice not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth,
beareth ALL things
believeth all thing
hopeth all things (hope)
endureth all things.
You could base your life off of this and be amazing. I look at this and thought about my thoughts and actions and said “Do i do all these?” and the ones I don’t I am working on changing. I think  we all need to look at this, because it says  in verse 46 "If ye have not
charity ye are nothing" and 47 "and whoso is found to possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him" So in verse 48, it says how to get it. "Pray with ALL THE ENERGY OF HEART, that we may be filled with this love which he hath bestowed
upon all who are true followers of his son Jesus Christ that ye may become the sons of God, that when ye shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is that we may have this hope that we may be purified as he is pure.”

So we need to pray and really try to better ourselves to develop charity, and the blessings of it are so amazing. And this is related to hope, because hope is when you believe something will happen and expect it to happen. And hope in Christ is that through Him, we can return to our Heavenly Father someday. And so, when we develop this Christ like love and all these things in it, we believe and expect to go to live with our Heavenly Father again someday. So hope. Super amazing thing to have in that you have no fear you have only faith and happiness.

So family, I’m glad all is well with you. Tell Ethan that I’m pretty sure I wrote him on his mission 하지만 (but) I don’t think he has  written me ha-ha jk jk Take care of Jessica please, She loves you all so much.

So Morgan is gonna work on an oil rig right. That cool. ha-ha we need to trade places. He is awesome at talking to people and I can do work. But we’re in the opposite place: I’m talking to people(sort of) and he is working ha-ha. Oh, I wish I was better at talking to people. When I talk to people, my mind goes blank and I can’t think of things to say. If I could talk to people better, this would be so much easier, but that’s my challenge I
need to overcome right, so I will work on it.

So I found for the ward party I made stove top (no bake) cookies. As we were cooking, we ran out of white sugar and used brown sugar (because the recipe just said 2 cups sugar. It didn’t specify white brown etc.) so the cookies didn’t set up. So me, being a genius, I froze them. ha-ha and we went to church and I put them in the freezer. Then at the bishop’s, I froze them more and there were edible as long at you at them before
they melted ha-ha. So don’t try brown sugar. They were good though.

I really hope I don’t get transferred next week. I like this area and its like starting to explode, like our numbers last week were the best they have been in a long time.  But its all up to the Lord. He puts us where we need to be right.

This email needs to end ha-ha . Sorry I am random in my emailing, So is there anything ya’ll need from me (there is actually a word in Korean that means ya’ll) 요로분 yo ro boon.

I love you all be safe,
Love Elder Rice

 P.S.
I found a scripture but I forgot its reference, but the Lord revealed it to me when I was struggling and I keep it in my wallet now.  "Be thou humble and the Lord thy God shall lead the by the hand and give thee answers to thy prayers" (Doctrine and Covenants 112:10) So awesome. He will lead us by the hand! What better guidance can we get than that! I love it

Sometimes he is writing and can answer back if we reply right away.

We commented on his purple tie…
Oh my 2 dollar tie? ha-ha Ya Korean ties are cheapo and awesome!

Another…
oh btw Doran sent me an awesome email that helped a lot. He is so good. I love him, tell him I really appreciate it! I love all my brothers and sisters
ha-ha, more now than ever before!


Photo Explanation

So Jessica wanted me to send a silly picture. I’ll try to get a better one, but this is the silliest I have currently, but I’ll get a better one. It was raining and Elder Rice left his umbrella on the bus(the Walmart one, not the good one). So we were walking and it was raining and there was a field with plants with huge leaves, so Elder Lee picks two. I freaked out, but the leaf made a great umbrella! I guess ancient Koreans used them as umbrellas.

We went to Baskin Robbins here: super good stuff. 

The bowl of stuff that you probably think looks gross is my favorite simple  cheap thing to eat. It’s kimchii ramen. You cook ramen and put kimchii in it. Its healthy and sooo good.  

The picture of the city is taken from the 22  floor of an apartment.  Super cool 

and the other is the ward party. 

Love you bye.