Hallo!‏

Dear friends and family of mine!

Wow! What a crazy week! No, really though. There have been moments more than a few when I have felt that I am going crazy! But...in a good way? Haha.

Umm! My advance apologies for any scatter-brained-ness included herein...

This week was my last "normal week" in the MTC! Weird! Because this coming week is full of all sorts of crazy stuff. I still can't believe I've been here so long. Last Wednesday marked my 50 day mark! Sheesh!

Anywho! So yesterday was Sunday and...guess who gave a talk in sacrament? Sister Bice did! Guess what language it was in? German! What the what?? When did that happen?? Hah. I was a little nervous, but it really is amazing how much I've learned here these last 8 weeks. Or should I say, we. We being...me and the Lord, because I can promise you I haven't done it all on my own...anywho! My talk was on enduring to the end. Also, after the meeting, I got a lot of comments about "how fast I talk"...apparently the German isn't going to be slowing me down for long. Haha. Also! I sang in sacrament with 3 other missionaries. Our branch President had assigned me and Elder Johnson to do a musical number, so we wrote our own little arrangement of "Näher mein Gott zu dir (nearer my God to Thee) and then recruited my companion and a third missionary to sing with us. We may or may not have procrastinated until...the morning of..but! It turned out really well! We did have a little scare just before though...we were eating lunch and all the sudden my companion said in a raspy wisp of a voice "...I lost my voice!" And i said "What??!" And she said "Sometimes, I'm allergic to cantaloupe..." What in the world? Anywho, it came back just in time, so all was well!

So! Thursday we got....flight plans! I, Sister Bice, will be flying out of Salt Lake at 8:30am to Atlanta, Georgia, and then from there to...Munich! So crazy! We don't land in Munich until 7:40am on Tuesday. The flight itself is 12 hours, and there is an 8 hour time difference...can you say jet lag?? Apparently they don't give us anytime for nonsense such as jet-lag, and they'll have us street contacting shortly after we step off the plane...ah! I'm a little nervous, but SO excited!

So this coming week, we get to host the new missionaries again on Wednesday! yay! Also, my teacher recommended my companion and I to help with the workshop that all the missionaries go to their first night here. There is an "Investigator" and a big group of missionaries, and then two missionaries (my and my comp) come in and do a "lesson" for a few minutes, and the new missionaries pick it up where we left off...or something like that...I don't remember how it went exactly..anywho we have a meeting for it today...\

And Friday is...in-field orientation! Woo! I don't really know what that means, but I'm' sure it will be good:)

Also, Tuesday is the 50th anniversary of the MTC, and they're making a huge deal about it. There are rumors that the first Presidency is coming, but we'll see what happens. Rumors like that aren't uncommon here and the MTC...

Anywho! Im' out of time..so! Thought for the week comes from the story in Luke 18. They talked about it briefly at our fireside last night. It is the Savior talking to a young man who approaches him and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. He says he has lived a good life from his youth, and Christ says "Yet lackest though one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and though shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me." "And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful..." So my question is...do we have things in our life that we are holding on to? A part of ourselves that we are withholding from our Lord? If so, it's probably time we do some soul searching. We must give ourselves to the Lord. Our whole selves. And when we do, we will be His. He will make us into new men and women. He will give us a new heart. And we will know His voice when He calls.

Anywho! I'm officially out of time, but! I love you all, and I thank you for all the love and support that I feel from you:) Have a beautiful week!

Much love,

Sister Bice.

Guten Tag!‏

Meine Liebevoll Freunden und Familie,

Wow! In fact, can I just say that twice?....Wow! THis week just absolutely flew by. I feel like I've been here just over a week when in reality, I leave for Germany in less than 2! I can hardly even believe it! In fact, we get our flight plans on Thursday (for which we are all so very excited!) and this week is our last full week of class, because we've got in-field orientation a week from Friday, and our last Saturday here will be P-day so we can pack! Bah!

Anywho! Adding to the speed of this week was the fact that our schedule wasn't quite normal. On Tuesday, we got to help with a teacher-training workshop...it was great! We were supposed to be helping the teachers, but I'm pretty sure they helped us more. Haha. And then on Wednesday we got ot host the new missionaries! You know those two missionaries that took me away when you dropped me off? Well that was our job this week. And then we got to show them around the MTC..it was neat!

AS much as i love it here, I'm beginning to get the sense that our zone is...completely losing it. We've been here for 7 weeks, but we still have another 2 to go! Which sometimes seems impossibly long, but I'm determined to hang in there with a smile on my face until the bitter end:)

Umm! As for things I learned this week...first off, a friend sent me a letter with a quote that I really liked. He said, "All God asks of us is everything we have. And even though that's not enough, it's enought for Him." How true is that? This week I have been especially impressed by the immense sacrifice the Savior made for us in completing the Atonement. We are so indebted to Him for that alone. But then, as if that weren't enough, He continues to bless us day after day. We will forever be in His debt. Which! Can sound a little disheartening if you want to look at it that way. I however prefer the other point of view. That while His suffering was horrific, it was also so very majestic, in that by and through His suffering in Gethsemane and then on the cross at Calvary, we, each and every one, truly can be redeemed, and become even as He is. I heard a quote by elder Holland that said "Our most crucial challenge in this life will be to believe that we can change." WE, all of us, can change. We may mess up, but that doesn't make us messed up. We may fall down, but that doesn't make us fallen. Through in Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can "fall seven times, stand up eight". Our weaknesses can become strengths. We can "come unto Christ, and be perfected in Him." But first, we must come. We must try. We must endure. Through the Atonement, we can have hope. And THEN will His grace be sufficient for us. Bah! I'm just so excited to go and share that beautiful hope with the people in Deutschland. :)

Also! A little Deutsch moment...so I was reading the New Testament in German a little this week, and I really loved..I think it was John 16:7. It's just before Christ's death, when He has all of His apostles gathered with him, and he promises them that when he leaves, he will send them the Holy Ghost. Well! In english, He refers to the HG as "The Comforter", but the Deutsch verse has "Beistander", the word beistand translating to "Assistance". And! I just thought that was super neat. Also in english Jesus says that "it is expedient that I go...so that the Comforter may come.." (i forget the exact wording..) But in German, it says that "It is good for you that I go...so that the Assistance (or assister) may come..." Meine gute, I love the German language! So! Hop on over to Mosiah 19:9 with that new idea in mind, and it speaks of the Nephites just after they were visited by the Resurrected CHrist, and it says that their greatest desire was to have the Comforter spoken of by the Savior. Their GREATEST desire was to have the ASSISTANCE of God. And so it should be with us. I've especially noticed on my mission how absolutely vital the Holy Ghost is in my life. Without it, I can do nothing. But with it? There is nothing I cannot do. So neat:)

Well anywho! Now that I've gone on forever and ever..I'm jsut about out of time. But! I would like, as always, to thank you all for your love, support, and letters. This truly IS a great and marvelous work, and I am so grateful to be a part of it. :)

I love you all! Have a lovley week, and smile often:)

Viel Liebe,

Sister Bice

Guten Tag!‏

Halo Meine Familie und Freunden!

Wow! I tell you what, this week just FLEW by! Oh the madness. I leave the MTC in (give or take a few days) 3 weeks! Then I'll be in GERMANY! I can hardly wrap my brain around it all.....

So! This week! We got a nice little treat at our Tuesday night devotional....Russell M. Nelson came and spoke to us! He gave a really neat talk on the gathering of Israel and how we are fulfilling the prophecies of old concerning it. Hah apparently the Quorum of the 12 fight over who gets to come and speak at the MTC....

Also! Thursday my quartet and I auditioned to perform a musical number here. We'd been warned that Sister Nally (the head music coordinator..) hates a capella numbers. It was true. We sang for her, and she expressed that hate to us....but! She said she was really impressed by us, and couldn't believe we'd only just met here at the MTC because we sounded really good together. So she gave us a "yes" and see if she could get us in somewhere. The next day, I had a letter from "The Provo MTC" in my mailbox. I opened it up and "Dear Sister Natasha Bice, Thank you for your willingness to share your musical talents while you are here at the MTC. I have scheduled you to perform "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" on January 15th and the Sunday fireside...." Yep, that's right, that was yesterday. This MTC is gonna be sick of me by the time I leave! IT was great, they announced our group and song, and an audible *gasp* went through the audience. Apparently people really like that song. Haha. Anywho! It was really fun. It was less nerve wracking to sing for the 2000 missionaries than it was to audition for 2 ladies. It was a really beautiful arrangement. I was going to try and record it to send home but I forgot....I love music:)

Also! We get 20 new Deutschers this Wednesday! That'll be fun. One of them is from St. George...Teila's stake presidents son..I think the new faces will make the time pass a little faster here...

Also! We now have 4 progressing investigators! Woo! It's fun. One of them has a baptismal date, and the other three..well...we're working on them. We just got them all this week so...yeah! (Just to avoid confusion..they aren't actually real investigators..they are just teachers here at the MTC..but it's still really neat..)

And on a more spiritual note. This week has been amazing. I try and study one Christlike attribute a week to work on, and this last weeks was submissiveness. I don't know that any of Christ's attributes could be esteemed more highly than another, but submissiveness is truly incredible, and, in my opinion, one of the ones most contrary to the "natural man". I read in a talk this week "Every opposition happens for one purpose only: to give you the opportunity to respond by applying in your life the teachings of Jesus. As you do so, you are changed to become more like Him." What a new perspective! To think that every opposition we face is an OPPORTUNITY to be like Jesus Christ. So! I've really been trying not to fight against my Father, and "become as a child" and "submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [me]" (Mosiah 3:19) Only when we are submissive and humble are we teachable...

Also! I read in a talk today by Elder Nelson that the English word "Gospel" comes from the old English word "Godspell", meaning "Good news." How true that is! This gospel is truly one of good news. I'm not sure the exact number, but the Book of Mormon uses the word "joy" a LOT. I heard in Institute once, "What could go so wrong in any given day, that could diminish the joys of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ?" There are SO many things to be thankful for in every single day, that it would be a shame to focus on the bad things. Not to say that that's always easy...it definitely takes constant effort. But when one tries to live with a heart full of gratitude, it's hard to be unhappy with life. "Love life, and it will love you back!"

Anywho! I'm out of time here...so I'm going to scamper off...but thanks again for all your support and prayers! It means so much. It's always great to get letters from family and friends. Just remember how much I love and appreciate all of you! Fight the good fight! Do good things! And never underestimate the power of a genuine smile. :)

Love you all!

SIster Bice

Halo Meine Familie!‏

Well hey there friends and family of mine!

So! This week, nothing really out of the ordinary happened..but! It was a great week. I went by so fast. We get 2 new districts of Deutschers next week, which is hard to believe. This last week also marked my "one month since I've been here" and my "one month until I leave" anniversaries....insanity!

So! This week! I regret to report that obviously I haven't praying fervently enough because....it snowed this week. Schnee. Gross. We woke up to the treacherous stuff on Thursday. :/. Ok, so it's not THAT bad. But it IS cold. Good thing I'm inside all day eh?

Oh! Right! We got to go to the temple today! It's been closed for our last 3 p-days (Vorbereitungstag is the German word for P-day..say THAT three times fast..)..but today it was open! It was so, so great. I'm pretty sure the Provo Temple has scarcely seen a group of missionaries so anxious to go to the temple. I encourage all of you who have access to a temple nearby to attend regularly...it's a beautiful place, full of beautiful promises. It really opens ones eyes to the eternal potential of man...

Hmm..Sacrament meeting this week was super neat. It was, of course, in German. They play a little game of Russian Roulette with us missionaries. We all have to prepare a talk in German, and then, during the meeting, they choose two missionaries to give theirs. I was thrilled when Sunday morning, I was asked to say the closing prayer...because that meant I wouldn't be speaking. Hah. Anywho! The meaning was on the Atonement. The neat thing about missionaries learning a language is it really brings you back to the basics....because that's all you know how to say. I really noticed that during testimony meeting last week. The testimonies were beautiful, sincere, and simple. Because we were all speaking German. Fear not, I discovered that German triggers the tears just as readily as English when I bore my testimony auf Deutsch...hah. Oh! Mom, you'll be so proud. My quartet sang in Sacrament. Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. At the end, our counselor said "Thank you Elders...and Sister Bice for that beautiful song" Yes, it is a men's quartet. Yes, I am their Tenor 1. :D We audition for the MTC presidency on Thursday...wish us luck?

Mmk! My thought for the week? I was reading in Romans the other day. I love Romans. Anywho, Romans 8:31 "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, Who can be against us?" Then on to Isaiah 35:4 "Say to them that are fearful of heart, be strong, fear not: behold your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you." Therefore! Romans 12:21 "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." Evil and good are really the only 2 forces in this life. I once heard the quote "God is voting for you, Satan is voting against you....but it's your vote that counts." In every deed we perform, we "cast our vote" to one side or the other. Ultimately, the power lies with us. And if we have God 'for us', then we truly can "overcome evil with good", for our God "will come...and save us."

Also! In Music and the Spoken Word yesterday, the Tab Choir sang a beautiful arrangement of "Somewhere out there" from "The American Trail"..that cartoon about the mouse...and! As I was listening, my attention was particularly drawn to the line "somewhere out there, someone is saying a prayer...that we'll find one another in that big somewhere out there..." Or something along those lines...the point is...somewhere out there in Germany, someone is saying a prayer. They may not know that they are praying for Sister Bice, but they are. They are praying, pleading with their God, that somewhere out there is the truth. Praying that someday, they might find it. Meanwhile, Sister Bice is at the MTC, ever with a prayer in her heart that she may be worthy of the Holy Ghost, that it will guide her to those people, halfway across the world, who seek the truth, "but know not where to find it." And so, somewhere out there, someone is saying a prayer, that we, me and them, will find one another someday. And! God answers prayers. People are being prepared. The field is white. What a marvelous work this is.

Anywho! That's all I've got time for...but! As always, know how much I love you all, and pray for you each day. We counted the other day, and the average MTC missionary says something around 20 prayers each day...so good! I hope you all have a lovely week!

Much love,

Sister Bice :)

Hello Familie!‏

Happy New Years Everyone!!

I can hardly wrap my brain around the fact that it is 2012! When did that happen?? Time sure flies, that's for sure....

So! This last week! Has been one of my favorites thus far! It was super great. The MTC is so awesome! (I'm not sure if I'll be so enthusiastic about it's awesome-ness in 5 more weeks...but! haha) Anywho...

Well seeing as it is indeed the new year, we'll start there! The MTC itself didn't do anything special to celebrate the new year, and no, we didn't get to stay up until midnight...but! We made good use of our resources. My companions mom sent her some sparkling cider. We, and by we I mean "I", had to get rather resourceful to open it though....I removed our bunk-bed ladder and pried off the bottle cap...using all of my body weight...but! Victory was ours. So we filled our oh-so-classy..water bottles...with cider and made a toast...while wearing our fake mustaches and talking in British accents. It was so fun! I'll have to send some pictures home to share...anywho, we enjoyed ourselves clear until...10:30..then we went to bed. :)

In all our silliness, we did remove the mustaches long enough to make some new years resolutions. Mine was inspired by a scripture I accidentally found last week when I mis-tracked a footnote. It's Ephesians 5:8, and says "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord...Walk as Children of Light." I love it! We have all, at time in our lives, strayed from the path and into darkness. But NOW are we light in the Lord. The Lord cares more about where we are than where we've been. So I'm resolving to let go of the past 21 years of life, focus on the present, and walk as the Child of Light that I am through my Savior and Redeemer.

So! In case you ever thought to yourself, "Hmm, I wonder what it would be like to pray in front of 2000+ people..."...you can rest assured knowing....it's a little nerve wracking. Ok, it wasn't actually that bad. My branch president called me and an elder from our zone into a meeting last week and asked us to say the prayers at the fireside last night. He said he picked us because we "were good looking"..and represented the zone well. Bahaha. Anywho, grandpa and grandma, you can be proud. One of the counselors in the MTC presidency shook my hand last night and the first thing he said was "Do you milk cows?" And I said "uh..I have before?" And he said "I can tell by your strong handshake!" Hah. Then he kept bringing it up. It was funny.

Yesterday we got to do a fun little act of service while we were out on our temple walk! We were crossing through a parking lot on the way there, when a car came zooming in towards us. For a moment, I thought he was some crazy anti-mormon that was going to take out a whole zone of missionaries in one fatal swoop. It turns out, however, that he was an RM. He got out and said "Could you missionaries do 2 minutes of service for me? And I'll pray for you your whole mission?" Hah, of course we agreed. Turns out it was his friends birthday, and he had 50 some odd balloons to blow up. He told us he was wondering how in the world he'd accomplish that when inspiration led him to us. So! the 15 (give or take..) of us blew up his balloons which filled his car to the brim, and then continued on our way. It was fun:)

Speaking of fun! Do you know what is fun? Volleyball is fun! Our zone has taken to playing volleyball in gym. I'm not very good at volleyball. But what I lack in skill, I make up for in sheer determination to hit the ball. Which can be evidenced by...the giant assortment of bruises and floor burns on my knees.....no pain no gain?

Anywho, as I mentioned, this week has been one of my favorites here. I learned so much! We had a wonderful mission conference yesterday, and Brother Brady (one of the MTC officials) gave a beautiful address on "misplaced faith". If our faith is not in Jesus Christ, it is not going to profit us anything. What I got from the address was...sometimes in life we look at a task and think "Can I do that??" Well, there is one huge thing wrong with that sentence. It's the word "I". If we ask "Can I do that?", we are placing our faith in ourselves. What we SHOULD be asking is "Can the Lord do that??" And if that be our question, our answer will ALWAYS come back a resounding "Yes, He can." Without the Lord, we can do nothing. But with the Lord, we can do all things.

Another scripture I found this week and loved is in 1st Corinthians 4:5-6; 8-9. It says "For we preach not ourselves, but Jesus Christ the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. [Servants=missionaries] For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. [Unto whom much is given, much is required (D&C 82:3)..we have been given much with the gospel, and we are required to share it with the world..]..We are troubled on every side, but not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed." As a missionary, I WILL be persecuted. But it will be for Christs' sake. And he will not suffer that I be given more that I can bear. I am on His errand, and He will not forsake me. What a comfort and a blessing to every missionary and member in the world.

So! That brings me to my last point...attitude really and truly IS everything! "No matter what you are feeling inside, put a smile on your face." "What can happen in any given day that could possible diminish the joys that come through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ?" Nothing! This gospel is true, and it is a gospel of joy. So! Show it! My cousin Jared once wrote home in an email "I hope you all have as good of a week as I'm going to. If not, change your attitude." Love it! Happiness is not constituted so much by what happens in any given day, but rather by how you look at the things that do happen..

Anywho! I'm out of time. But I love you all! Thank you so very much for your letters and your prayers and your support. You truly do make a difference in my life. May the Lord be will you always!

Love,

Sister Bice