Liebe Grüße an alle!‏‏

Liebe Familie und Freunde,
So! I don't have a lot of time today..but..here goes nothing:)
I still can't believe how fast the time goes by. Never a dull moment. I feel like as soon as I think I've got something figured out, the Lord throws me a curve ball and I start back at square one...but! He's just keeping me on my toes:) We have been having a hard time finding new investigators here in our area the last while, but we keep on keeping on! We are really blessed to have the ones we have. They are so prepared. And! We know there are more of them out there...we've just gotta depend on the Lord a little more to know where to look! I really do love this work. There have been lots of rough times these last 7 months, but those are the ones in which my relationship with the Lord has been strengthened, and I wouldn't take a single one of them back.
     So! Göppingen! We had a good week:) Monday night we had Family Home Evening with Familie Kindermann...AND Frau Hausmann! That was super neat. We had an activity about the restoration using Jenga. Everytime someone took a block out, they had to say something that was lost and then restored through Joseph Smith. She and I were last. I took my block out and said "baptism by immersion" and she said "Hey! That's the one I was gonna say!!" Oops? Haha. She's a natural. :)
     Oh! Guess what I did this week? I sang! Yeah yeah, not that exciting. But! I sang in Chinese! Ja wohl! Sister Lin and I were at one of our Sisters' house, and we sang "Lead Kindly Light" ..1 verse: German. 2 verse: English. 3 Verse:...Chinese! It was so neat! We finished and Sister Hofer said "....I am speechless. A hymn in 3 languages...in my own house! I will never forget it.." then she stood up and gave us both a hug. It was cute:) I love music!
     So remember how we were supposed to have a baptism last weekend? And then it got moved to this weekend? Well! It got moved..again. But! For the last time! It turns out Andreas has a family wedding this saturday so we decided to avoid the stress and do it a week later. But! On August 4, 2012, there will be a baptism in Göppingen! It's all planned and everything. Annnd I have to play the piano. Hah. But! I am really excited for him. And he's got a pillar of support in his fiancé. The two of them are looking at a bright future, so long as they remember to keep God a part of it. They're planning to marry in the temple. Beautiful. 
     As for me! I have been loving the General Conference Liahona we just got this month! So many wonderful talks! I really like Elder O. Vincent Haleck's "Having the Vision to Do". It talks about how when the Savior called His apostles, they were seemingly nothing special. But He saw in them more potential than they could see in themselves. "They were not experienced at first, but as they followed, they saw His example, felt His teachings and became His disciples." He reminds us that "we are a people with a history of visions an the faith and courage to do." It really did me good to read that. When I came on my mission, I had a goal to make a "vision" of who and what I wanted to become in 18 months. I feel like that is something I have fought with a little bit. Sometimes I lose sight of what the Savior sees in me. And then I pray and ask Him to help me find it again. I got a really neat quote from a friend this week. "As we begin to see others through Christ's eyes, they begin to see Him through ours." I love the gospel. It's a gospel of hope. Of potential. Of becoming. Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. He died and then took up His life, that all men might live. He lived a perfect life that we might know the way. I know still make lots of mistakes, and I still have a LONG way to go, but!
 "I'm trying to be like Jesus, I'm following in His ways.
I'm Trying to love as He did in all that I do and say.
At times I am tempted to make a wrong choice,
but I try to listen as the still small voice whispers
'love one another as Jesus loves you,
try to show kindness in all that you do.
Be gentle and loving, in deed and in thought..
for these are the these Jesus taught.
I'm trying to love my neighbor, I'm learning to serve my friends.
I watch for the day of gladness when Jesus will come again.
I try to remember the lessons He taught.

Then the Holy Spirit enters into my thoughts saying:

'love one another as Jesus loves you,
try to show kindness in all that you do.
Be gentle and loving, in deed and in thought..
for these are the these Jesus taught."

...there is nothing like a primary song to learn the truths of the Kingdom. I pray that I can be a little kinder, a little more loving, and try to see people through the Saviors eyes, that they may in turn see Him through ours. Moroni 7:48.

I love you all!

Love, Sister Bice

A little note aus Deutschland:)‏

Hallo! Guten Tag! Servuss!

So! I can't believe it's P-day again already. And what's more, it's the first P-day of the new transfer! Insanity! We got a phone call at SEVEN in the morning transfer day. Crazies! But! All's well that ends well! Sister Lin and I are both staying in the game for another round here in Göppingen:) That means by the end of this new transfer, I'll have been here 6 months. Give or take. That is so unbelievable. But! I guess I'd better believe it hmm? I'm really glad I'm staying. One of our young women yesterday told me I wasn't ever allowed to leave. I told her that if President Miles ever calls, I'll forward him on to her:) She's 12. And adorable:) She reminds me of my little sis! No Kiley, I haven't permanently replaced you. Just temporarily.....*wink*

Well! What do I have to say? Probably entirely too much, as usual:P This last week was good! It was a little crazy, but really good:) On Tuesday we had an appointment fall out so we did some walking around and stumbled across a little park. There was a man sitting alone on a bench eating a sack dinner. I turned to my comp and said "What do you think Sister Lin?" She said "I think you're crazy" I acknowledged the fact (or rather, accepted the compliment..hah.) and opened the little gate and walked over to him "Entschuldigung..." He ended up being a really nice guy. He's just had a hard life. He took a Book of Mormon. Maybe he'll give us a call. But! It was a good lesson on how we shouldn't judge people! Sometimes it is easy to look at somebody and say to yourself "hmm...yeah...probably not..." But! You just never know.

And Wednesday! Wednesday was wonderful! We had interviews with Pres Miles! He told me "You and Sister Lin are doing great. You're both really young in the mission, and you're relying on the Lord...because you have to!" Hah! He couldn't have been more right. Anywho. I had a great little chat with him and left feeling ready to take on the world. Afterwards while waiting for Sister Lin, I sang a duet with Sister Miles! She is a really good singer! It was super fun:)

Annnd Frau Hausmann! Is so great! And! Going to be baptized! WHAT?? August 18th. Meine Güte. So great.  I love our lessons with her, because as she talks about her past and experiences, all I can think is "...meine Güte! Frau Hausmann has been being prepared to receive the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ for her WHOLE LIFE!" It's so neat to see how the Lord works with people. She's been through a lot, but she's got a strong spirit, and she's happy. What she probably doesn't fully comprehend is..she's about to become a whole lot happier. And I can't wait. I just...love the gospel. It really is perfect. It makes perfect sense. And while it's not always easy, it's always possible. We don't have to BE the best to thrive in the gospel. We just have to GIVE our best. And while everybody's "best" is different, everybody's best is enough. Daswegen ist das Evangelium..vollkommen. At any rate, Frau Hausmann came to church yesterday, and at the beginning of VHF she whispered to me "..so I've been thinking a lot about what we talked about on Thursday (baptism..)" I sat and waited..."I was thinking it was a little soon for baptism....but then I thought..our gospel learning and progress is like this ---------------------------------(a line). And whether we get baptized here on that line ------*------------------------- or here on that line ---------------------------*-----doesn't really matter does it?" How right she was! I think she was feeling a little like she needed to know EVERYTHING about the gospel before being baptized...but if that's the case, I STILL shouldn't be baptized! But! The Gospel isn't about BEING perfect. It's about BECOMING perfect. One little step at a time. For me, that's the beauty of it all. Christ knows we aren't perfect. But He loves us perfectly. The word "disciple" means "pupil, learner".  "Siehe, ich bin ein Jünger Jesu Christi..." That doesn't mean I'm perfect! That means I'm learning. Thanks for your advice Wednesday. I've been trying to have more patience with myself as I walk this path of discipleship, or, learning. :)
So! I know we're supposed to "lock our hearts" on our mission but...I am in love with missionary work. :) Every day my eyes are opened a little more to how much the gospel and the Atonement actually mean to me. And not just to me, but to everybody. There are still lots of times when I get a little frustrated with myself because I feel like my mission is passing by entirely too fast, and I'm simply not getting done all that I want to get done, but! Then I just have to remind myself that...I wasn't called to be a perfect missionary. I heard in the MTC once "You are not here because of what you are. You are here because of what you have to give, and what you can become." I thank my Father every day for trusting me enough to send me here to the Alpine German Speaking Mission. I can definitely say that I'm not here because of what I am. But I'm grateful for this opportunity to become more like my Savior as I serve my brothers and sisters here in Germany. What an opportunity.

So! I read some wonderful talks this week that I wanted to share but..I left them at home. Mensch. I guess it'll have to wait. I'm out of time anyways. I love you all! Keep on keeping on! And smile while you're at it!

Love, 
Sister Bice 

 We live half our lives on a bus.

remember how I used to be able to sleep anywhere?Yep. Still can

 My DL likes to talk a lot. so! I have learned to multi task! look at me go:)

remember how I used to be able to sleep anywhere?Yep. Still can

So..we rode CLEAR out in the middle of nowhere to visit a less active......could somebody please explain to me how this thing is actually supposed to qualify as a doorbell? It's not even connected to anything! No wonder she didn't answer....oy.

Me and Sister Weilguni! She is like my German mom. She's such a sweetheart! And her family is adorable:)

. This is Sister Lin while I wrote my email last week. She was real sleepy....