Hallo!‏

Liebe Freunde und Familie,

Bahaha. So I am in the internet shop, and the indian lady who works just came up and asked me "möchten Sie neben ihre frau sitzen?" Which is, "do you want to sit next to your wife?" HAH! She thinks Sister Lin and I are married. Meine Gute. The people here are crazy. ANYwho..

CPR! If you ever find yourself struggling to keep alive, just practice a little CPR!

Church!

Pray!

Read!

I learned that one from Sister Lin:) But! So true! I am convinced that there are no spiritual ailments in life that can't be whipped into shape with a little bit of CPR:)

So! Another week here in Göppingen. I feel like I have been living in this place my whole life. Except for the fact that I still get us lost sometimes. Hah. But! I am also able to give pretty good directions when people ask me! There is something about wearing a nametag that makes people think you know everything in the whole world...hah.

Good news for the week....Sarah was in church yesterday! Woo!! Finally! We wanted to call and remind her Saturday but couldn't get ahold of her. Then she called at 7:50am sunday morning and I thought "oh great, she is going to tell us she can't come.." but she said "Good morning! I am waiting outside my house...is someone coming to pick me up?" Daw! I told her to be ready to go "just before 8" and, she was:) I think she actually dozed off for a split second in Sacrament meeting...but! She was there! I wish there was an english branch here. She doesn't speak any German. I translated for her, but it's not the same. I hope she had a good experience anyways. We meet with her again tomorrow:)

As for the rest of the week? We...didn't have many appointments. So we spent a lot of time outside. We are in desperate need of...people who have interest to learn more about the gospel. They are out there. We just need to find them. And if that means talking to 500 people who AREN'T interested first?...Bring it on.

..I am STILL finding little sticky notes that sister schulze hid for me all over the apartment before she left. I have been so blessed as far as companions go. I think the Lord knows I couldn't do this without a good companion. He knows me too well. Actually He knows me better than I do. Because I probably wouldn't have given myself the companions He has given me, but somehow, they have been EXACTLY what I've needed. :)
I was told this week by an elder that I have "the strongest Sister handshake" Hah. I have heard that so much on my mission. I think it is growing up in the Bice fam. Bundy tough?
District meeting! Was SO good this week! Again. I love my district. Meine Gute. They are such good missionaries. Anywho, one of our elders is Elder Croft. He goes home after this transfer. I feel like he is "the perfect missionary." I've learned so much from him. This week he shared something that I loved. He said "There is no such thing as darkness. Just an absence of light." Woah! Crazy thought! I actually heard that in science class before..but I forgot it. He said that the most successful way to be a successful missionary is to FILL ourselves with light! If we feel a sense of "darkness" in our lives, we need to figure out how to let some more light in. Then I got to thinking and came upon the phrase "down time". And came to the conclusion that we need to eliminate it! I mean, who wants to be "down" anyways? We need to turn our "down" time into "up time"! By filling our free time with uplifting thoughts, music, books...throw open the windows and let the light in!
Anywho, I am almost out of time. But, I was looking through some notes the other day and found "If you want to see a miracle, just think back on who you were your first day at the MTC, and who you've now become." So, I pulled out my first mission journal (yes, I am on my second already..) and meine Gute. I think miracle is an understatement. It's crazy to think back on where I was just a few months ago. I think too often I only look forward, and think about all of the things I still need to learn, things I need to do better, things I need to change, etc. And I sometimes forget to look BACK and see all the things the Lord has already helped me with out here. How blessed I have been. How much I have learned. How much I have grown. I can't believe 6 months of my mission are already gone, but I am excited for the things I have yet to learn and the becoming that will yet take place in the next year. Thanks so much for all your support, letters, prayers, and examples. I feel like my whole life I have been surrounded by spiritual giants. Annnd I feel like I am still a spiritual dwarf sometimes. But! I am working on it. And so long as I am moving forward, I am happy:)
Liebe Grüße!
Love, Sister Bice

Liebe Grüße schon wieder aus Göppingen! :)‏

Family Tree! Me, y trainer, and my golden. Daw! Sister Schulze is my grandma!

Me and Sister Lin. Mom's favorite face.

Liebe Freunde und Familie,

*take deep breath........exhale....*...that's what I've been telling myself all week. But! Apparently it's been working out ok, because I'm still kickin'..hah.

Well! What a week. I have to admit I was a little confused to read the emails today about how training was a big deal because I feel like that's old news already! I can hardly believe Sister Lin and I have only been one full week here in Göppingen..so! I will apologize in advance. I feel like my brain got kicked into overdrive last week and hasn't slowed down since. So! If this email makes little to no sense..we'll blame that:)

Let's start on a lighter note shall we? Remember the graves that Sister Schulze and I have been gardening? Well, I took sister Lin by last week, and...apparently there are flower thieves here in Germany. 3 of our 6 plants had been stolen! It's not like they just picked the flowers off...they dug up the whole thing and made off with them! What kind of a person steals flowers off of a grave?? Sister Lin just started laughing. I definitely didn't see the humor in it at the time..but..I guess it is kind of funny..in a weird sort of way..hah.

So! This whole training thing is, well, it's an adventure, that's for sure! I don't think I can actually put into words all that I've felt the last couple of weeks, but, I can try? Honestly I feel a little like somebody threw a bucket of cold water at my face just as I was getting into the swing of things. Haha. But! It has been great. It has been so interesting being on the flip side of things. I mean, I was just finished being trained..one transfer ago...But I love the training program! I am so grateful that I get to go through it again so soon after having it as a trainee. I think sometimes I'm training myself more than I'm training Sister Lin. A lot of the time I find myself saying things I didn't even know I knew until they come out of my mouth and Sister Lin gets all excited and makes me repeat them so she can write them down. Hah, she is so cute. At any rate, I am really learning the truth of the principle "a testimony is gained (or strengthened..) in the bearing of it". I mean,  I know I have SO much to learn and SO far to go, but, I'm happy. I still am not entirely able to see the "why" or "how" of things, but I have come to the conclusion that.. I don't need to. The only "why" I am concerned with is the "because the Lord asked me to", and that's more than enough for me. I mean, it has been QUITE the transition from Sister Schulze and Sister Lin, but I am learning so much.  MY missionary self has really had to step it up the last week and a half. I think I had gotten used to being "sister Shculze's shadow" a little bit, especially with the members. I honestly wasn't sure I was capable of taking the lead when President Miles asked me to train, but,  the Lord has been working miracles inside of me the last week. What a blessing. I pray every day to be able to be a good example and teach Sister Lin the things that will be important. Sometimes I feel completely at a loss. But I suppose I don't have to know everything, because He does. Now I just need to lean on him a little more. :)

I will admit that I have had to study a lot about patience this week. Haha. It's always interesting getting used to a new companion. Sister Schulze and I were together for 3 months, and had a pretty good system going there at the end. Now it's back to square one! But I have been so impressed and inspired as I have studied about Christ's patience. It never ceases to amaze me. When I think of all the patience he's had with ME over the years? Wow. I'm really grateful for His perfect example. Now I just need to be patient with myself as I work on being patient with others:)

So on Wednesday we rode out to a tiny village to bring an Italian Book of Mormon to a woman we met on our last finding day, but have been unable to get a hold of. When we found the house, she was out front getting something out of the car. When we walked up she recognized us (always a good sign...) and gratefully took her Book of Mormon. I asked if we could come back next week for an appointment. Her eyes welled with tears as she explained that her daughter became very ill in April and the doctors have been unable to find out what's wrong with her. She said she'd be in the hospital all next week and had no time, but that we could call her the week after for an appointment. We talked for no more than maybe 3 minutes, but my heart ached for this beautiful daughter of God. I could see the fear in her eyes as she explained her daughters condition. And it was like I could just feel Christ reaching out trying to comfort her. I assured her of the promised and the comfort to be found in the BOM, and told her we'd pray for her. It's people like Frau De-Santo that really hit our missionary purpose home. People like Frau De-Santo that need so badly what we have. I hope we are able to meet with her. She has a really humble spirit.

Friday! Friday was a great day. Sister Lin and I taught the Young Women's activity. It was actually a little idea sister Schulze and I had come up with and we asked the YW leader if we could have the hour and a half...but then Sis. Schulze got transferred and I was left the fill the hour and a half alone. Yes, I was a little stressed about it..all week long. But! In crunch time, Sister Lin and I got some pretty good ideas put together and it ended up being great. We did the Theme on...missionary work! Ta-da! We wanted the YW to have a little inside view on missionary work. So we showed them our white handbooks, planners, etc, and then took them through our daily schedule. We had them do "morning sport", and then I brought my wardrobe and we gave them 60 seconds to "get dressed in the morning" It was really funny. And also a little disorienting to see my clothes running around on six 12 year old girls the rest of the evening. Haha. Anywho, we had them do some street contacting and study and an activity on following the spirit. We all had a great time and the girls learned a lot:)

Also on Friday! Well, back up. At the beginning of the week, one of the girls in our ward called us and asked if we could meet with her and her fiance on Friday. Of course we said yes. So! We did. His name is Andreas and her name is Julia. They are 19. We taught the first lesson. At the end, Sister Lin started into the baptismal commitment...and then forgot the German. So I had to pick it up from there. And.....we set a date! For the 15 of July! And he came to church on Sunday. We are hoping to meet with them again later this week. I'll keep you posted:)

Saturday was great too. We rode out to Ulm to help with their straßenausstellung. It was so crazy to see some of the members there! Sister Fröhlich gave me a huge hug. She said "Look at you speaking German like a native!" Hah, like a native, not even. But they only knew me in my first 6 weeks, when it took me 5 minutes to process everything anyone ever said to me. I guess I have learned a lot int he 3 months since then. Anyways, the ausstellung! Sister Lin ist...der Hammer. She's on fire with excitement. And it's contagious! I love it:) Bahah, but she is still a little clueless sometimes. There was a group of men doing a "bachelor party" of sorts. The one getting married was wearing a giant pink bunny costume. The others were all wearing shirts that said "Michael is getting married, and I'm only here to get drunk". Uhh..well Sister Lin couldn't read it, and of course she wanted to talk to the man in the bunny costume. I turned around and, there she was. I saw her give them the "I'll be back in one minute" sign, then she ran up to me and said "Sister Bice, I need your help! They are speaking German and I can't understand them!" I said "Sister Lin...they are all drunk.." She said "*gasp!* Really??" "Yep. Now just smile and wave and walk away..." and, much to the disappointment of the group of men, we did just that. Haha, oh sister Lin:) The good news? We did manage to place a couple of Book of Mormons, even with our imperfect German:)

Anywho! This is already way long. I'll close up. Yesterday at church one of our members said "Sister Bice, you are simply beaming today!" And I thought "How could it not be with a companion as happy as Sister Lin?" Hah. I just feel really happy right now. Which actually doesn't make a whole lot of sense, because we have a...seemingly interesting week staring us in the face. We only have like 3 appointments. But. I feel like sister Lin's happy-go-lucky is unburying the happy-go-lucky that has been hidden behind all the stress in me. And I love it. I love grinning from ear to ear, walking down the street, and saying hello to everyone we see. Even though that's not normal here. I mean, I know we have a LOT of challenges yet to face here in the next couple of weeks, but I am confident that if we face them with a smile, it'll all be for our good. Sister Lin is just what Göppingen needs. And what I need. I love the gospel. I love my Savior. I LOVE being a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I love being called of Him to preach His work among His people, that they might have everlasting life. So! Packen wir es an:)

Liebe Grüße,

Sister Bice

Liebe Freunde und Familie:)

So! Once upon a time, Sister Schulze and Sister Bice rode the train to Stuttgart on Thursday morning. They said their heartfelt farewells, and Sister Bice rode back to Göppingen with her new companion, Sister Smart, and they all lived happily ever after.

.........Psych.

Last Tuesday, we had our last district meeting in Ulm. It was so great. And I got a blessing from our district leader Elder Volz. I am just a little nervous for this transfer, so I asked him for one, and it was exactly what I needed to hear. At any rate,  I am really going to miss my district. They have become like Family to me. Ich habe Sie sehr Lieb. After our meeting, we had our district P-day for the transfer, and we braved the 768 spiral steps of the Ulmer Münster! It was so neat! The view from the top was beautiful. I'll send some pictures home:) By the time we got back to the bottom, my poor legs didn't know what on earth had happen to them. The were a little wobbly. Obviously I'm a little out of shape..pah.

After the Münster, we decided to grab a quick lunch together before heading out. We were walking over to Subway (I know, I know..we are such Americans. Actually, we had 3 Germans with us:) our handy rang. I looked at the number and it was "Unknown", so I answered with my

"Guten Tag! Hier spricht Sister Bice, missionarinen von der Kirche Jesu Christi..."

"..Guten tag Sister Bice! Hier spricht Präsident Miles.."

Uhh...the mission president? President never calls without a reason. I was expecting him to ask to speak with Sister Schulze, but after a minute of small talk, he explained that he'd been on his knees a lot the last few days, and that he was going to be making some changes in the transfer that would affect me. Then he asked me if I was willling to accept a calling. Of course I said yes. Then he told me he was calling me to be....a trainer.

I'm pretty sure I stopped dead in my tracks. I told President if that he thought I could do it, I'd do it. He then told me that I needed to be in Munich the next day to pick up my Golden (greenie..). He explained a couple of other things and said tchuss. I hung up the phone and my district all stood there waiting for me to explain something. Then Elder Volz said "You're training aren't you?? I knew you would!" Uhh..I am glad everyone else saw that coming cause..it blind sided me like an S-bahn! And here I was, worried about a companion that had "only been out 6 weeks longer than I had". President Miles e-mailed me this week and said,  "Dear Sister Bice I had to smile just a little reading you letter about how young you and Sister Smart are and how that will affect your work, surprise. Sister Lin. You two will be great and you will be a great trainer, the Lord told me so."

ANYwho.. Wednesday we cancelled all of our appointments and rode to München to the mission office. It was the weirdest feeling. 4 months ago to the day, I was in the exact house...only on the other end of the spectrum. I was the Golden being pick up! Annnd now I was there as trainer. I was the youngest trainer there, and felt a little out of place. Until we had testimony meeting. After a lovely dinner as trainers and trainees with President and Sister Miles, we all gathered into their living room to be assigned our new companions. Then all of the new missionaries bore testimony. As I sat there listening, I knew it was exactly where I needed to be. I have NO idea how we are going to survive this next transfer with little old me at the helm...but I know that we will. Like I told Sister Lin..there are going to be times that neither of us know what we're doing..but in those times we are just going to learn together, and grow together, with the Lord.

So! Sister Lin! She is from...Taiwan. She speaks Chinese, English, and....no German. And! She is absolutely adorable. She is a convert of 5 years, and she just beams with love and excitement. She thinks I'm perfect. Which is obviously a hideous fib...but! I am going to do my very best to not give her any reason to think otherwise. The last 5 days have been an adventure. To say the least. There have been countless times where I have felt completely helpless. In those times, I have dropped to my knees and plead with the Lord for help. And! Well, we are still alive so..hah. More than anything, I have been so very humbled the last few days. I have found great comfort in the words of Nephi "I will go and do the things which the Lord has commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandment unto the children of men save he shall prepare a way that they may accomplish the thing which he commanded them." The Lord has called Sister Lin and I to serve together here in Göppingen. And He will prepare the way. We may be in for a little bit of a bumpy ride, but, so long as we keep Him in the game plan, all things will work together for our good.

Annd out of time! Sorry this email is a little scatterbrained! Crazy week...and only going uphill from here! I love you all! Have a lovely week:)

Love,

Sister Bice

Liebe Familie und Freunde,

I can't believe I'm already cracking into my 4th transfer. I don't know where the time goes out here. But! I am grateful for every second of it. Anywho! As of Friday, the polls are in and it looks like this transfer I will be serving in....*drumroll....* Göppingen! Yep! Another transfer here in my little home away from home:) "I'll stay where you want me to stay, dear Lord....." Hah. Sister Schulze will be heading to Freiburg on Thursday for another whitewash. Which means she will have to clean another elders apartment..mensch. Sister Schulze is so great. I have grown to love her so much. She's like my own sister. I've learned SO much from her in our time serving together, for which I will be forever grateful. She has been exactly what I've needed these past 3 months. I'm going to miss her, but I know unsere Geschwister in Freiburg need her. Sister Funk is getting a wonderful companion. :)

As for my new companion! Sister Smart! She was in the MTC with me! I didn't know her super well, but she was way neat! But that also means she's only been in the field one transfer longer than me..that could be interesting with German..uh..But! Anywho..meine Gute what a torrent of emotions I've had this last week. If I said I wasn't a bit nervous for the next 6 weeks..I'd be lying.  Sister Smart and I are both relatively young in the field...I have the feeling we could potentially have..a lot..of challenges in the beginning...but! We will overcome them. And we will grow from them. Challenge always brings growth if we let it. I heard a talk by President Uchtdorf once that said we should view challenges as a "treasure hunt" for the potential and talents that are with in us. So, let the treasure hunt begin hmm?

ANYwho, enough with the future! The past week was great. Truly great. Sister Schulze and I have really tried to hold nothing back. We did a lot of work, and had a lot of fun:) So! On Wednesday? Maybe? I forget..anywho..the night before, all of our appointments..called and cancelled. Cool. So, we made a new plan before going to bed and Wednesday morning set out with fingers crossed. We made our rounds and visited all the people we'd planned and of course, none of them were home. Hmph. So we headed back homewards through the city, and saw a man that we'd talked to on finding day. He said we could bring him an Italian BOM, so we did, but when we dropped it off it was kind of a "yeah..thanks..but I go to church already and don't actually have any interest in meeting with you..tchuss.." Unfortunately, that's how it often goes. But! We saw him and he said hello as we walked by. Then we heard an "excuse me.." and turned around to see him walking towards us again. At first I thought "oh great, he's going to yell at us for something..." (hah.."oh ye of little faith" anyone?) But! Much to our surprise, he said he had read a little in the Book of Mormon and had some questions about it, and wanted to know if he could meet with us sometime. He also wanted to know if we had another Italian BOM for a friend of his....woo! We love it when our investigators do missionary work for us:) Anywho, we haven't heard from him since then, but we are hoping to meet with him this week..

Frau Hausmann came to church on Sunday! I think she was more (rather than less) just curious about who from us was leaving and who was staying..but! She was there! Best day ever. We had a lesson with her last week, and she is coming to lunch with us at a members house on Wednesday. Daumen drücken!

Annnd Sarah. Sarah is great. Annnd we still have no way to get her to church. But! We are getting closer. We got permission to have a joint lesson with her and the Ellwangen Elders (because we are hoping to get her to the Ellwangen ward..its half as far away as Göppingen...) So, at any rate, we are hoping that works out. Her baptisimal date is June 30th, and at this point, church is the only thing holding her back..

Speaking of Sister Schulze! Clear back at the top of this page..hah. She shared a quote in District meeting last week that I will now pass on to all of you..because I loved it..ahem.

"I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a Disciple of Jesus Christ. I will not look back, let up, or slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future secure. I am finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tainted visions, worldly talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals. I no longer need per-eminence, positions, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.  I now live by faith, lean on his presence, walk with patience, am uplifted by prayer, and labor with power. My face is set, my gait is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, divided, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of population, or meander the maze of mediocrity. I will not give up, shut up, or let up until I have saved up, stored up, and paid up the cause of Christ. I am a Disciple of Christ. I must go until he comes give 'till I drop, preach 'till all know, and work 'till he stops me. And when He returns for his own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My banner will be clear."

I think that pretty much sums it up.  "Siehe, ich bin ein Jünger Jesu Christi, des Sohnes Gottes. Ich bin von ihm berufen worden, sein Wort unter sein Volk zu verkunden, damit sie immerwährendes leben haben können." 3 Nephi 5:13. May we all have a more determined resolve to become Disciples of Christ!

Annnnd I am once again out of time. I love you all! So much! Thanks for the support and prayers:)  I wish you all a lovely week!  

Liebe Grüße,

Sister Bice

Fun Picture

Tulips!!

Hey everyone I just got this in a letter from Tasha and thought you guys might enjoy it. The caption on it it read "do you know what tree this is??(if you don't I'll be severely disappointed.. ) Its a whomping willow!!! ... don't judge. I was excited about it..."