March 29, 2021 Grand Island

 Wow! Four weeks in the field! It's been a crazy ride. I've never been so perpetually exhausted, so spiritually high all the time, and I've definitely never had this much marshmallow cereal before.

I want to share two funny experiences I had this week, two miracles, and two lessons I have learned.

First, the Carsons! We went over to this super cute older couple. Brother Carson told us his entire life story! He was a convert to the church in his early thirties and then spent rest of his life in service to the church. He went on a mission with his wife to the North Indian mission (which no longer exists but used to cover the dakotas I think?), five years of driving to the Denver Colorado temple on Mondays and driving back to Nebraska on Saturday nights to work in the temple, thirteen years of serving at the Winter Quarters temple, and over five positions as branch and stake president. He's ninety one years old and STILL handed out three book of Mormons this month. He's baptized almost his entire street. He's banned from personally baptizing any more individuals because the last woman almost made him collapse in the font.

But, as completely awesome as they are, we did have some funny stories from visiting them. Brother Carson was a taxidermist, which was a bit of a shock when we first entered his house. Sister Carson gave us a huge tour of the house. As she showed us the basement, she paused in front of a door and looked at us.

"Do you want to see my baby?" She asked us. Confused, we nodded. She opened the closet door and placed a bundled child in my arms. Afraid I was breaking mission rules, I looked down, only to see a doll. It was weighted like a child, with skin that felt real. Mildly uncomfortable, I hummed out a compliment. And then, I felt it.

The doll in my arms moved. Her chest rose and fell and her little eyelashes fluttered open. 

I kid you not, I almost screamed and yeeted this woman's beloved child into a stuffed panther's jaws.

"She's moving." I told Sister Carson, trying to convey my terror in a way that seemed completely natural. 

"Oh, yes! She breathes just like a real baby!" Sister Carson explained proudly, like a real parent. "And, if you focus, you can even feel her heartbeat!" I'm going to be completely honest. I was not as impressed as she was when I suddenly became aware of the doll's heartbeat pulsing steadily against my arm.

"Wow." I whispered.

"Oh my gosh, that's so cool!" My companion said, completely unaware of my growing concern that I was holding a demon. "Where did you get her?" 

"That's my favorite part!" Sister Carson replied. "I don't know who sent her, she just arrived in our mailbox one day." 

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm 96.72% sure that that's the beginning of a goosebumps horror story. 

"That's crazy." Sister Spendlove replied, staring at the child in my arms with the facial expressions of someone who just realized that we may have found a cursed child. As the doll's pulse beat against my skin, I was fighting off the urge to call the Elders for an exercism. "You just found her?" I verified. Sister Carson nodded and I decided that I was done.

"Sister Spendlove, would you like to hold her?" I asked. As she took the cursed thing, I've never been more relieved in my entire life to get something out of my arms.

We met Debbie! Oh my gosh, this woman is a trip and a half. When we came to her house, she was sitting on the porch waiting for us. Debbie is a larger woman, with a petite chin and short gray hair that fall waywardly, and eyes that seem to gleam. I've never met anyone else who constantly referred to themself in the third person! As Debbie stood up, she encouraged herself by saying:

"Oh Debbie Debbie Debbie. Come on girl, you can do it."

Well, Debbie opened the door to her house. Immediately in the doorway was a piano with a mattress against the piano and about a foot of space between the hallway railing to walk. This woman defied physics as she squeezed through the small hallway. Inside her house, she told us: "I'm a clutterer. I like stuff. And I'd prefer to be able to write my name in dust rather than clean my house once a week." 

I conplimented her roping saddle and she told me that it was actually a western saddle and that I must not know horses very well... And after she gave us a tour of each room, she said:

"I'm so glad you're here! So, just do what you do and clean my house!" And we were a little taken aback because our mission is actually to invite others to Christ! But we did a couple of hours of cleaning for her and she was super grateful. 

At the end, she asked us to pray over her house. And I found out that Debbie believes in popcorn prayers! She would add and remove parts of the prayer as we said it, or voice her agreement. 

I had two small miracles this week. On Sunday, I was tired and feeling sorry for myself and one of our investigators told us that they didn't want to meet us anymore. They canceled right before a lesson and we had about an hour and a half of time we didn't know what to do with. And immediately, I received a text asking for some service ASAP. We were able to deliver some toys to a woman for her child and they were super grateful. 

Another time, I was feeling drained and wondering why I came out. As soon as I prayed, I got a notification that my mother had sent me an email.

Two lessons I learned this week:

1. At Debbie's house, as I was sweeping up a floor that hadn't been swept in years and throwing away overused men's briefs, I just had the sweetest impression that Debbie was a beloved daughter of God. 

2. This one happened at ward conference. The stake president approached all of us missionaries and told us that we should never sit by our companion at church. We need to sit by the members. 

This has been an exhausting week, but I am so grateful for the love and support of my friends and family. 

Love you all, 

Sister Brice

Zone conference, we had a stray cat jump into our car, Cody drew sister Spendlove and I a picture of Captain America but with Cody's face, and the taxidermy bear.