Called as Sister Training Leaders

Dear Family: Hi!!! How are you?! Well this has been a good week. A nice long, good, long week. Ha ha no it was great! It's a great day to be a missionary in Western Australia.

How is China? I can't believe you guys are in China again. Last time you were in China, I was in India. Now you're back in China again, and I'm in Australia. Holy smokes, this globe is just not big enough for the Bryce family, is it? We're all over the place! I remember last time you were in China, you guys got me the most beautiful set of pearls...I love them. That's probably my favorite gift I've ever gotten! I wear them all the time.

My BIRTHDAY!!!

So, we got transfer calls today!! Sister Lee-lo and I are staying in Busselton together, THANK GOODNESS. I am SO glad she's not leaving me. And Busselton is the bom dot com so that's wonderful.

We have been called as the Sister Training Leaders for the Bunbury Zone and the Rockingham Zone, which is awesome! It means we get to go on exchanges with all of the other sisters in our two zones. I'm so excited, we get to go out to Kalgoolie which is like 8 hours inland. Country, I'm tellin ya. It is going to be so fun to get to know some of the other sisters.

I am excited. It is a lot of responsibility, because Sister Lee-lo and I are over 2 of the 5 zones in the mission - the only Sister Training Leaders that are over more than one zone. It means that we will being doing a LOT of traveling this transfer. It will be good though. It is an opportunity to serve, and it will make me a better missionary because it means we really have to step up our game - we have to be exactly obedient, amazing at teaching, and work VERY hard. Which we have already been trying to do, but there is always room for improvement.

Yesterday we went out to Dunsborough, which is another little coastal town in our area - about 40 minutes west of us. It is BEAUTIFUl. We had a dinner appointment there with the Branch President's family at 6, so we went at about 2 to visit an investigator and do some tracting. We tracted all day, with little success - it is a fairly affluent area, so people weren't as accepting. We tracted house after house. It was still fun, because tracting is fun and heck, just being a missionary is fun - but we weren't really getting anywhere. We said a prayer and asked God to guide us to those that He had prepared to receive the Gospel. We got in the car and were driving down the road, and I felt like we should turn around - but before I said anything, Sister Lee-lo stopped and turned the car around (companionship unity, people.). We stopped on a street called M---------, and started tracting it. 

My birthday barbecue, "G'day, mate! Throw another shrimp on the Barbe!"

Finally, at the very last house on the street (it always seems to work that way, doesn't it?) we met a woman in her mid - twenties named N-----. She is GOLDEN!! We set up an appointment for later and left her with a pamphlet and a prayer. After the prayer, I felt inspired to leave her with a Book of Mormon as well, which we did. We are SUPER excited about her!! It's just so cool. The Lord always comes through; all we have to do is ask in faith.

You know what I love??? I LOVE gospel study. Personal study and companionship study are like my two favorite times of the day. It's the best ever, and I am definitely going to do my best to keep the good habits that I have developed here after my mission. There is something about starting your day with scripture. It sets the tone of your day. I have noticed a direct correlation with the quality of my day and the quality of my morning studies. It is so much better, too, to start the day with study, rather than ending it...because it gives you time to ponder on the things you learned in the morning and see the Lord's hand in your life throughout the day. I love seeing the way the Spirit I acquire during my study carries throughout the rest of my day. I would exhort each of you to begin your day with scripture study. (That's right, EXHORT.) Will you, each of you, begin your day with reading from the Book of Mormon? I promise that as you do so, you will find an increased measure of peace, joy and direction in your life that can only come from feasting upon the words of Christ. (2 Nephi 31:20)

Family, Mom especially, you would be flabbergasted at how domestic I am becoming. I'm turning into a health freak. (That's right, me. Valuing health.) I don't know what happened. All of a sudden I'm all about vegetables. When we have time, we COOK. I'm not talking about baking, I've always liked baking. We like, full on cook. We made Greek Lemon Chicken for Sunday dinner last week, it was divine. I've started to realize that when I don't eat well, I feel sick and I get headaches, and I'm not in as good of a mood. You know how I've had headaches my whole life? Well, yeah. I'm starting to wonder if I'm like, lactose or gluten intolerant or something. Because I'm pretty sure that every time I eat wheat, I get a headache. But whatevs I'll deal with it and we'll figure it out when I get home.

My District on my birthday! I promise, I am not hugging Elder Key's leg. It just looks like it.

Okay well I am having the TIME OF MY LIFE here in Australia!! I love Australia. It's so great. Obviously I'm still all about America - I always was patriotic - but Australia is a close second. (: Tied with India on my list of favorite countries. Oh wait and tied with Italy. Ah dang it. Okay no Australia wins.

I love you all! Keep doing what your doing, be nice, don't fight, and make sure you have a picture of me hanging in every room. (: Ha ha nah you don't have to do that, but make sure Joseph still remembers who his favorite sister is!

Love,

Sister Bryce

P.S. who were the first members of our family (Both sides - Bryce and Stout) that joined the Church? Do we have any information on their conversion stories?? I really want to know at what point and under what circumstances we first came in contact with the Church.