Hello

Dearest Familie und Freunde,

Phew! What a week we had here in Göppingen..and Stuttgart..and Pforzheim..hah. We'll get to that...

So! Tuesday we had Zone Conference in Stuttgart. It was SO super. Meine Gute I love my mission. President and Sister Miles spoke to us, and then the Assistants, Zone, and District Leaders all did workshops with us. It was so super. I learned so much.

After Zone Conference we had an exchange with the Pforzheim Sisters. So, I went to Pforzheim with Sister Weed. Let's just say..the 24 hours between Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon were..a little long. Hah. I really learned to appreciate MY companion. It is amazing how much we take for granted in life hmm? For example, how smoothly things go when you've been working with someone for 4 months vs. how things go when you work with someone new. But! I learned a lot. And realized how blessed I am for having a Native companion. The sister I worked with has been out for 9 months, and I was teaching HER german. All the credit there going to meine liebe Mitarbeitarin and the Lord. I realized how much German I really do know! And also how much I really...don't know. I am so used to being able to ask Sister Schulze for words or questions all the time and getting correct answers! Anywho. We ended up getting stuck on the wrong train ont the way back. We ended up in a city called Brennen. Which is in fact...in the Frankfurt Mission. Uhhh....oops? Hah. Sister Schulze and I had a very happy reunion to say the least, and are happy to be back together in Göppingen!

Friday, we had...our second Finding Day! We were out again from 11am to 9pm, street contacting, trying to find the Lord's Children who have been prepared by Him to receive the Gospel. We had a goal to find 15 potentials. We found 10. Which was a little disappointing, and yet, we were far from disappointed. We gave our best, and that's all He asks. :) By the end of the day, we were so spent! But we kept on whistling "Called to Serve" until the bitter end. We like to whistle:)

Saturday...you'll never guess. We....set a baptisimal date with Sarah! The 30th of June:) We had a lesson with her about the Plan of Salvation, and she was really interested and had some really great questions. She is so super. She never ceases to amaze us with her insights and views on life. She lives an hour and a half away from us, which is hard...we also have yet to find a way for her to be able to make it to church on Sundays..but! Where there's a will, there's a way. And her heart is ready and willing.

Annnd Sunday. Well..back up a little bit. Friday. On Friday, one of the people we contacted into was a Frau named Rebekka. We read a little out of the book of Mormon with her on the street, and she was really interested and said she wanted to come to church on Sunday. So! We called her Saturday night to touch bases. She answered the phone and we said who we were (Missionare von der Kirche Jesu Christi) annnd..the line went dead. Hung up on. Again. Sister Schulze and I were both confused and disappointed. Our "Schwarz Kleided Frau", the one who actually had interest, hung up on us. :\

But! The story doesn't end there. At 10:45pm we heard the Handy ring. We answered. Rebekka! She said she's been at the lake and her phone died and that she'd just gotten home. She apologized, and double checked the address of the church for Sunday. So! Sunday, we waited outside the church until the last possible moment but...no Rebekka. Again disappointed, we went back upstairs and took our seats in Relief Society.

But! The story doesn't end there. At the end of the first hour, we got a text. Rebekka! She said sorry, but she'd slept in. We told her she could still make it to Sacrament, and she said she would hurry. And sure enough, just before Sacrament started, one of our young women came and excitedly told us we had an investigator there! And the talks were perfect! The Book of Mormon and the Holy Ghost. She had already read a bit in the Book of Mormon, and said it was way easier to understand than the Bible. ANYwho, we are meeting with her Friday:)

Speaking of Friday...transfer calls. We are very much not really looking forward to them. Sister Schulze and I have been together 4 months now. One of us is likely to go. But! We'll go where you want us to go, dear Lord....

Anywho! I am again out of time...so I will quickly leave a thought and then scamper! I was reading in PMG this week in German, and it said something interesting about the Atonement. I don't remember it exactly and don't have it on me, but something to this effect....mmk the English says, "As we use the Atonement in our lives, it can help us...." But the German starts out a little different. It says "In the measure that we use the Atonement in our lives, it can help us...." Liebe Geschwister, the price has been paid. Whether or not we use that redemption to our benefit is entirely up to us.

I love you all! I love this work. I have never been happier. There is so much joy in this work. There are a lot of hard times--sometimes they even outweigh the good times--but they are swallowed up in the joy of the good news of the Gospel.

I hope you all have a wonderful upcoming week! Smile lots and don't forget to appreciate the little things!

Love,

Sister Bice