Wie geht's Österreich? Kalt....‏

Liebe Freunde und Liebe Familie,

Hmm...where to begin...how about let's begin with....Saturday! Schwester Hausmann's baptism! We got up same as usual, packed our bags, and headed to the train station to catch our 8:45 train towards Salzburg. We got to Salzburg and got on another train to Munich. We got to Munich and got on another train to Ulm. We got to Ulm and got on another train to..Göppingen! All together it was about...6 hours. But! It was SO worth it. It was such a wonderful, special experience for me. I never doubted that some day she would make the choice to get baptized. She was just too prepared. She was looking for the truth, and "they that seek shall find." But I guess I didn't really think I'd get to share the day with her. And I could never have dreamed of the joy that would come from it. She was so beautiful all dressed in white!! And the service was lovely. I sang. "My gift is my song.." I was REAL nervous, but I made it through without any major train wrecks. Hah. Anywho, Frau Hausmann was just beaming:) Saturday was a lovely day. Saturday, my dear friend took her first step on the path that leads us all home. :) That's what makes this work worth it. Yeah, there are a lot of hard days, and seemingly millions of people that have anything BUT interest to talk to us....but it's not about the millions, it's about the ONE. And when you find that one, the rest just doesn't matter. And finding "the one" just makes you that much more excited to get out there and find the other ones! Weiter, immer weiter. :)

It was also really neat to see my old branch again! I guess you don't realize how much you love people until you leave them! I really have so much love for the members in Göppingen. I have come to the conclusion that a mission experience has little to nothing to do with WHERE you are in the world, rather, with the people you grow to love while you are there. So much of my mission has been...people. Special people who will forever have a special place in my heart. :)

As for Wels! Wels ist immer noch auf der Suche für neue Untersucher. Oder, Wels is, still, on the search for some investigators. But! Still smiling in the process. Sister Baxter and I are really looking forward to this week because we have finally got some good appointments lined up! Tomorrow we are meeting with Laura who is WAY cool but not from our area, and Wednesday we are meeting with a man who randomly popped up at Stake Conference, was befriended by a member, and agreed to meet with the missionaries, and on Thursday we are meeting with a less active and his non-member girlfriend who came as a referral from our Ward Mission Leader. So! Drücken wir die Daumen! *Fingers crossed!* Anywho! I still LOVE the ward here. On Wednesday, we were going to go on splits with two of the Young Women, but only one of them showed up so we went as a drit instead. We made a quick change of plans and in her couple of hours with us..well, she definitely had a taste of missionary work! Hah. We were almost finished and decided to go quickly to an investigators house while we had her along because normally we can never go in for a lesson. We knocked, and he came to the door....in nothing but a very small towel. Sarah's face was priceless. Poor girl. Of course the only time half-naked men come to the door is when we have the bishop's 16 year old daughter along. Hopefully she wasn't too traumatized to not come back? Hah.

I guess other than that I don't have much to report! Sister Baxter is an angel and I am grateful for her every day. I am just grateful to be here! It is starting to get really cold..which is going to be interesting..but! Ich werde es aber überleben! The gospel has never been truer! It's also never been less true. Hah. It's just...all around true. :) I hope you all have a wonderful week and remember to read your scriptures and pray! It's the littlest things that make the biggest difference! Ich habe euch lieb!
Love,
Sister Bice

Ja Hallo schon wieder!‏

LIEBE Familie und Freunde,

Mensch! What a good week! Actually, I feel like the people outside this week were especially..unfriendly. We met a couple of nasties. But! It was nevertheless a wonderful week. Why? Well, because I'm a missionary! Ich bin ein Jünger Jesu Christi. And as such, EVERY week is, indeed, wonderful:) In fact, I'm not sure I've ever had a better week in my whole life than this last one! I feel like so many things just dawned on me, and life just makes so much sense! We had interviews with President on Friday. He said "How're you doin' Sister Bice?" I told him I was doing great. He said "But how are you really doin'" I told him really, that I was doing great. Then he said "Well what does great mean?" Then I started into this whole spiel that went something like.."Well you know President, I have thought a lot about it this last week. I am just so happy, I don't know what's wrong with me. I have never been more happy and content in my whole life, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense because we haven't had very much success the last two transfers...I don't know..I guess maybe I need to have higher expectations for myself..." Then he stopped me. And laughed. And told me to think about what I just said. *Still laughing* "Sister Bice, I am going to have to write that down.." Then he said "Sister Bice, I'm glad you're happy." "..you know what President? So am I."

I really have thought about it a lot this last while. I mean, the work has been slow here in Wels. We..still..don't have any really solid investigators..there are lots of days where we don't have a single lesson...etc. But! Light bulb! Happiness has nothing to do with any of those things. Happiness is a choice. And one day last transfer--I remember it happening, but don't remember when--I decided to let myself be happy. To love myself for who I am..strengths and weaknesses and everything in between. I really can't explain it, but sometime last transfer something inside of me changed. And ever since that beautiful, subtle moment, I've been happy! Yeah sure I've had a few little hiccups now and again but even on the "bad days"...I've still been happy! Wahnsinn. :) You just gotta learn that no matter what you do, you're STILL not going to be perfect...so! Why not embrace yourself in the process we call perfection hmm?

So! Off that little soap box..hah. Hey! We managed to have a couple of good lessons last week! Woohoo! And this coming week has a lot of potential! We are still patiently awaiting the day when everyone in Wels decides to embrace the gospel, but we are experiencing miracles all along the way! I would have to say however that the highlight of my week was Saturday! Saturday was...amazing! At 7.30am we got on a bus with our little ward members and headed to Munich to..see the Prophet of the Lord! The bus was DEFINITELY more comfortable than a train. Good choice Sister Bice and Baxter. :) It only took 3 hours to get there and we had plenty of time when we did. We were standing in a group of missionaries waiting for our tickets when all of the sudden I heard a squeal and before I knew it I was being rush-and-hugged by a group of teenage girls...Göppingen!! Luise, Jana, and Belana! Daw! They were almost as happy to see me as I was to see them! Then a few more of my little Göppingenites filed in and I got hugs from all of them (that is, all of them of the female gender...and little Jonas. He's only 9 :) Mensch! It was SO good! It was really funny, after they cleared out, Sister Miles (Presidents wife..) came up to me and said "Sister Bice, who were all those people..?" I said "That was Göppingen!" She said "Oh! I thought it must have been your family! I thought 'What are they doing here??'" Well Sister Miles, you thought right. They ARE my family. :)

And to add to the wonder of the day..President Monson! When he walked into the room and everybody rose to their feet...wow. We were clear in the back, but even from where I was standing I could FEEL that this man was in very deed a Prophet of God. I guess I could share some of the things he shared, or talk about things that I learned, but let's be honest, neither you or I have THAT much time! ;) Let it suffice to say that that meeting was a testimony that President Thomas S. Monson loves the members of this church, wherever they may be. He loves the members, and he loves the non members. His concerns lie in the "rescuing" of others. More evident than anything else in that meeting was the fact that President Monson loves the Gospel, and President Monson loves the Lord. AS I watched him, I couldn't help but think of the song "I'm trying to be like Jesus..". President Monson has led a life of "trying to be like Jesus" in that he loves and serves God's children. He reaches out to the one. It was so cute. At the end as he was leaving, a little kid ran up and wanted an autograph. Pres. Monson lovingly took the child's paper, and used the closest back to him to sign it. Adorable. Hah it was actually President Miles that he used to write. Super funny. :) Anywho, you could just really feel his love for these beautiful people. For all people. But most importantly you could feel his love for the Savior. It was beautiful.

After the meeting I saw a Göppingenite who said "Schw. Hausmann is looking for you!" Then! She found me! Ah! So good! Her first words to me: "Sister Bice! How are you??...You've lost weight! *look of disapproval*" Hah! Just like my mammy. :) We chatted for a bit, and she is SO excited for her baptism this weekend! And I am SO excited to be there! 6 hours on the train is gong to be so worth it. I wouldn't miss it for the world. :) She has been telling everybody in the branch "..Sister Bice is singing at my baptism!" Hah. Schauen wir mal wie das klappt. :) At any rate, I love her so much!

I think on Saturday, I got a little taste for what heaven is going to be like. I big giant reunion, with so much love that my little heart isn't going to know what to do with it all! I can't wait:) And then of course President Monson's talk was so much more than inspiring. I just feel so much greater the need to get out go "to the rescue" by serving and loving and striving to follow the example of the Master.  The work in Wels ist immer noch ein bisschen langsam, but we are definitely working on it! With smiles on our faces:)
I loved what President Monson said on Saturday. "If we don't try, we don't do, and if we don't do, then why are we here?" The question really made me think. If we don't even TRY, then of course we are not going to accomplish anything! But as long as we ARE trying, we can put our trust in the Lord and be content (and happy!) with His will. :) I really felt inspired this last week to step it up a notch. To set more personal goals to better prepare myself to serve these beautiful, wonderful people of our Alpine Mission. On that note and before this gets any longer, sage ich Tschuss! I am so grateful for the gospel. I'm grateful to be on a mission for my Savior. I'm grateful to be serving among these wonderful people. I'm grateful for Jesus Christ, who was "..lifted up upon the cross; and after that [He] had been lifted up upon the cross, the [He] might draw all men unto [Him].." (3 Nephi 27:14...I love the Book of Mormon..just in case you were wondering..:) So! Meine geliebte Geschwister, "Let us all press on in the work of the Lord"! And always remember the Savior, and come unto Him as we try to follow His example, and love.

I wish you all a wonderful week!

Mit lieben Grüßen,

Sister Bice

 

Grüß euch!‏

 Liebe Freunde und Fam,

So! I am a little short on time today...Sister Baxter and I are going to try to do a little field trip to Hallstatt today (..we don't actually know anything about it excpet that the members told us we should go there...) but! That's ok because I don't have TOO much to report on from last week..evern though it was a great week! Mensch...I don't even remember what we did last week...lemme get my planner....

ok!

 

Tuesday we had our last district meeting of the transfer. Sad! I am going to miss my little district. Two of our Elders were transfered. But! We ARE getting a Golden, which is always fun:) Our week was a little bit crazy. Another one of those nothing-really-goes-as-planned week. But! We did find some sweet new potential investigators! On Wednesday we decided to go out to a little village called Au bei der Traun. We picked it because we were sure it hadn't seen missionaries in ages. We were only half right. We got...a lot...of doors slammed in our faces. But! We kept on knocking (or rather, klingling..) until finally someone gave us the time of day. A really funny couple. They had never heard of our church before (confirming the fact that missionaries hadn't made it out there for a while..) but also let us in on the fact that Au is apparently a hot spot for Jehovas Witness missionaries. (Which explained all the door slamming..) At any rate! We had a great conversation with them and they happily took a Book of Mormon. :)

 

On Saturday we had a ward service project! It was one of the Mormon "Helping Hands" projects. We went out to a park deal in a village called Holzhausen and spiffed it all up! It was lots of fun. And there was a great turn out. The ward here never ceases to amaze me. It really is just like a big giant happy family..of missionaries! I love them all. :) After the service project we went to support one of our less active sisters as she read aloud from the Bible in a Catholic church. Where I discovered why people are always so horrified when we tell them our church is three hours long. It really WAS cold in there. And the benches really WERE hard. Hah. But! I think it was neat that they were promoting reading the Bible. I love the scriptures. :)

And yesterday! We were able to teach the Young Womens class in church! A lesson on missionary work, in honor of the new age limit. One of the young women said "You know, I just don't think it sounds all that great. You have to get up early, go to bed early, talk to people who don't like you, you can't listen to music.." and the list went on. It was definitely a 15 year old girl perspective:) But! It gave Sister Baxter and I the opportunity to bear testimony of just how much our missions have meant to us. Yes, there have been lots of hard days. Weeks. Months. But! I would re-live the hard times 10 times over for the moments and the people and the experiences that have made it more than worth it. What a blessing it is to be here, serving my Savior. Sister Baxter and I had a great weekly planning session and set some great goals (well, we hope so anyway..schauen wir mal..) and we were blessed to experience a lot of miracles last week. At any rate, I am excited as ever about this wonderful work. It truly is wonderful.

 

I was reading in Ether last week, and chapter 6 really impressed me. The Jaredites finish their barges, and then they "set forth into the sea, commending themselves unto the Lord their God." I like all of the water analogies in the scriptures. In order that the Jaredites could make progress towards the promised land, "the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters towards the promised land, and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea...and they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves that broke upon them..." Yep, that's life sometimes! On our little ocean of life we often encounter "furious winds" and are sometimes "buried..because of the mountain waves that break upon" us. But! "..when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them...therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters". Even though "the wind never did cease", the Jaredites did not remember to call upon the Lord. In fact, "they did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord." And every time they cried unto the Lord, he reached down with loving hands, picked them up, brushed them off, and set them back on the path. I guess on my mission, I have oft times felt like the winds have never ceased. But, without the winds, we cannot progressed towards the promise. Without opposition, we can't progress towards our ultimate goal of becoming like the Savior. We just need to learn, like the Jaredites, to be grateful for our many blessings, even amidst our trials. The words of a song from "White Christmas" come to mind.."When you're weary and you can't sleep, try counting blessings instead of sheep..." I am a big fan of that advice! There are always blessings to be seen, if we know where to look. :)

 

Alright I am out of time! I love you all dearly and wish you a lovely week with lots of smiling! I am looking forward to a wonderful week with Interviews with President Miles on Friday, and Stake Conference with President Monson on Saturday!! I'll let you know how it goes! :)

Love,

Sister Bice

Ja Hallo!‏

 

So. My companion is dying. The doctors have given her approximately 6 weeks to live....annnd of course by dying I mean she's going home, and by Doctors I mean President Miles, and by companion I mean....Sister Baxter and I are staying another transfer together in Wels! Mensch! I was SO happy when we got the call Friday. Sister Baxter and I have got some unfinished business here! I Feel like there is still SO much that I need to learn from her! And! Of course we are going to do everything we can to make her last transfer the best transfer. I can't believe she's going home in 6 weeks! She's become such a wonderful missionary in the last 16 months, and I hope to be able to help her to continue to grow and progress every single solitary day of the next 6 weeks, because I know that's what she'll be helping me do. At any rate, transfer calls are over and done with and I am REALLY looking forward to this next transfer. :)

 

..the man next to me just asked if I was from Sweden. Apparently my German has a swedish/holland ring to it. I get that a lot. Weird.

 

Sooo, remember how I told you all that the Prophet was going to be in Munich in a few week? Well! This just in....so is Sister Bice! We got a call from our Zone Leaders last week telling us that our Zone gets to go see President Monson! I am SO excited!! I'll keep ya posted on that:)

 

I got a new bike last week? Well, it's actually quite an old bike, but it's new to me. I actually feel like I down-graded from a Stallion to a Pony. Haha. I have been riding a giant man's bike around for the last 6 weeks. The problem was...it was a man's bike. Which is not very convenient for a woman..wearing a skirt. Thanks to my long Bundy legs however it was working out ok. But! A member in the ward got me hooked up with a girl bike. Which is a LOT smaller...the first day riding it I felt like I small child..or a monkey...but! Though pony she may be, she's the most faithful pony I've ever seen. She rides like a dream:)

 

We also got...2 new investigators last week! They are this really cool couple that has been, thanks to our amazing member missionaries, to church every week for the past 5. She's from Austria and he's from Kenya. They have 2 adorable girls. They also apparently have had a bad experience with missionaries in the past, so they didn't want us over for a while..but! They finally let us come. We were SUPER nervous for the appointment. So was the rest of the ward. Hah. But! It went well, and they said we could come back. Ja Wohl! Now we've just got to trust that the spirit will start (or more likely continue..) working away at their hearts so that they too can be an eternal family. :) The gospel is true!

 

Speaking of the gospel being true....do you know what was amazing? Konferenz was amazing!! We got to see all of the sessions except for the Sunday Afternoon. Annd we had an investigator come to one, so we watched that one in German..which wasn't quite the same...But! No less amazing! I could go on all day about my thoughts about all the different talks but...I will spare you all. A few thoughts that I especially appreciated however were...

-ok first.....THE MISSION CHANGES! Wow! So neat!! When Elder Nelson was here with us, he told us a little bit of how that all went down. He was telling us that it was only through the Spirit that the Quorum of the 12 could ever reach any sort of mutual agreement. He told of a meeting that they had had, that was so led by the Spirit, that they were all in agreement in a matter of 10-15 minutes, which never happened. He said "The decision we made is going to change the future of the Church....but! I can't tell you any more than that!" Hah! We were hoping it would be revealed to us in Conference and..it sure was! At any rate...at first I thought "Mensch, I missed the boat!" But then I realized how perfect the Lord's timing is. My mission didn't even exist 2 years ago! Nope, I was definitely meant to go at 21. But all the rest of you, get on the ball! We need back up out here!! :) ANYwho.. 

-From Linda K. Burton in the Relief Society Session, the thought that we are all $20 bills! No matter how tattered we become, our worth is not diminished.

-From Quinten L. Cook: Don't give first class devotion to second class causes. There is SO much good to do in a day. And only so much time to do it. It all goes back to the principle of good, better, best! We have to find the balance..

-From Präsident Eyring. "Heavenly Father, I will give you all of my time. Please show me how to fill it.' We must consecrate ourselves by consecrating our time. I am loving the once in a lifetime opportunity that I have on a mission to consecrate ALL of my time to the Savior. I know that is a little unrealistic for the rest of the world, but I encourage you to do what you can!

From Boyd K. Packer. We can change our lives, but we can't change our past. We, every one of us, needs the Atonement. And the mistakes and weaknesses that we often so dispise are the very means of our stregthening our dependence on the Savior through said Atonement. Don't make excuses for your mistakes, and don't be content with your weaknesses, but! Don't beat yourselves up about them either! We all have them. It's what we do with them that makes us disciples of Christ.

-From Elder Holland. "What I need are disciples, and I need them forever." The life of a disciple has never been easy. Not even for the Master. We were called to be fighters! Wir sind auserwählt. The gospel of Jesus Christ isn't a religion. It's a way of life. It's who we are. The Lord does not need church members. He needs Saints! The Lord does not need fair-weather friends. He needs our commitment. Our devotion. Our love. And, "The crowning characteristic of love is always loyalty."

-And last but certainly not least, from President Monson. The Savior can. He will. He does. You can take that for what it's worht. I know he didn't say that exactly, but that is kind of the general theme I got from conference. The Savior can help us, he will help us, and He DOES help us. Every day of our lives. Whether or not we choose to look for and recognize His hand is up to us. I loved Sister Baxter's thoughts in comp study this morning. We were talking about Monson's Sunday Morning address. I had found it a little interesting. That of all the things he could have shared, he shared stories of going "to the rescue". Sister Baxter pointed out that, as the prophet, he shares with us the exact message the Savior would share if on the earth. So why did he share what he shared? To let us know that the Savior knows us, He loves us, and He answers our prayers. That is something I have really come to know on my mission. My Savior knows me. About a million and one times better than I know myself. He is so exactly aware of my every moment. He knows my joys, my pains. Happiness and sorrows. Weaknesses and strengths. And He answers my prayers. Not always in my time, or exactly how I thought He would or should. But He is there. He is listening. And He is answering.

..on a side note, while watching Conference, I decided that I want to be in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir someday..:)

 

Meine Liebe Geschwister, the gospel is true. It is perfect. It is a blessing. And it is available to ALL who are willing to "come and see." I rejoice every day at the thought that I have a Father, in Heaven. Who loves me. I can, and do, speak with Him at ANY time, about ANYthing. He loves us so much, that He sent His Son, His Only Begotten, to die for us. But the true beauty of the story lies in the fact that: He Lives. The Savior Lives. I know He lives. And because He lives, so will we. We will sometimes fall, but we can rise. We will sometimes fail, but He will never fail us. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can be healed. Through the Atonement of Christ, we can be made whole. Through the Atonement of Christ, we can "come, and be perfected in Him." The gospel is true. It has been restored. And we are indeed led today by Jesus the Christ, through His living servant, prophet, seer and revelator President Thomas S. Monson. What a blessing.

 

I hope you all know how much I love you! I hope you are all enjoying life as much as I am. I am so grateful to be here. Serving a mission for my God. :) Gott sei mit euch bis auf Wiedersehen! Und! Bis nächste Woche. :)

Liebe Grüße,

Sister Bice

 

 

 Liebe Familie und Freunde,

 So, some of you might be wondering to yourselves, "Hmm....how many Kilometers did Sister Bice ride on her bike this week?" (Ok, I'm sure none of you were actually wondering that...or at least I hope not...if you were, you should probably find something better to occupy your thoughts with..hah..) At any rate. .....I don't want to talk about it. It was a lot. But! Like the old saying goes, "Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger!" Hah.

 Meine Güte! Schon wieder eine Woche ist vorbeigegangen hier in Wels! The time is flying. We get transfer calls..THIS WEEK! But Sister Baxter and I are confident that we are both staying. That is what we are praying for anyway. Hah. I know the Lord knows what's best for me, but, in this case, I hope what the Lord thinks is best for me and what I think is best for me happen to agree one with another:) But! You know what they say, "Come what may, and Love it!"

 So! This week? We did a lot of service this week. We had an exchange. We baked some pumpkin muffins last p-day! It was a lot of work. We had to make our own pumpkin mash. But it was so worth it:) We didn't have a lot of lessons, so we a lot of contacting. We got lost a couple of times (most of which were my fault..and by most I mean all..good thing I have a great companion, who is patient with me..hah). We met a lot of WAY cool people. Who are momentarily not ready to accept the gospel, but! They say it takes 7 times to make a convert. Or something like that. You have to plant the seeds before you can reap the harvest! Mostly we are just doing all we can and leaving the rest in the hands of the Lord. And! We are finding joy in every day of the journey. Ja klar, it will be awesome when we get some solid investigators and get the ball rolling, but! If you always put off happiness in missionary work until everything is going the way you want it to.....you are not going to have a very happy mission. The trick is finding joy in the little daily miracles that the Lord sends our way. Sometimes they are harder to see than others, but they are always there to be found for those who are looking. Of THAT I am certain.

 So! The big news of the day!! Still no baptisms set here in
 Wels...still no solid investigators for that matter...but! Frau
 Hausmann!! Has a baptismal date for Oktober! Mensch I read that this morning and almost died for happiness! I am so excited for her. Feel free to keep her in your prayers! :)

 Have I mentioned how much I love my ward here. I love them. So much. Yesterday was the annual...sacrament primary program. I almost died laughing. We have so many kids in the ward here, and they are just a hoot! I loved it. And! I learned a good lesson! The theme for the program was WdR, or CTR. The kids at one point sang "Choose the right way and be happy"..whatever that is in English. They were a little all over the place during the verses, but when the chorus came along, they all sang about as loud as Carson Wall, "WÄHL DAS RECHTE...UND SEI GLÜCKLICH..." At first I couldn't help but just laugh. But! Then I realized just how right they were. When we choose the right way, we are happy. Every time. Not only that, but choosing the right way is the ONLY way TO be happy! Oh, the simple primary truths. :)

 Annd now you will have to bear with me as I share what I learned in my personal study today. :) I am reading in 3 Nephi. I have been thinking a lot about the whole pride cycle thing lately, and what a miracle it is that we have 1000 years worth or history in one nice little 530 page book. It really is a testimony of how merciful the Lord is to His people. And yet, they always seemed to fall again. In 3 Nephi Chapter 5 verse 7 says "..and all this iniquity had come upon the people because they did yield themselves unto the power of Satan." For some reason the word "yield" caught my attention. So I followed the footnote to Romans 6:16 "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness." I read that and thought the use of the word "servants" was interesting because it generally has a negative connotation. So I busied myself looking up a few other scriptures and found the following. -John 12:26 "If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor." -Galatians 4:7 "Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." ...And so we see that being a "servant" of Christ isn't about being in bondage, rather than SERVING He who came to serve. We serve right along side with the Lord. "and where I am, there shall also my servant be". An in the end, we will be "no more a servant, but a son (or daughter); and if a son (or daughter) an heir of God through Christ. Our Father in Heaven wants to give us, literally, EVERYTHING that He has. All He asks is that we serve Him. He invites us to be His Servants. On the other hand we have the servants of the Devil... -Alma 12:17 "Then is the time when their torments shall be as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever; and then is the time that they shall be chained down to an everlasting destruction, according to the power and captivity of Satan, he having subjected them according to his will." The Lord will raise us up. Satan will bind us down. Even "chain us down to an everlasting destruction, according to his power and captivity..". I think it is clear which one sounds like a better deal. And the kicker? We sometimes CHOOSE to be a servant of the devil! We yield ourselves to him. Obviously we aren't perfect, and Satan is really good at what he does, but! My beloved brothers and sisters, the choice is ours. "Choose ye this day, whom ye will serve.." but as for me? Well, I'm gonna do my very very best to serve the Lord!

    Before this gets any longer let me just tell you all how EXCITED I am for General Conference! Then I will skedaddle:) But! Mensch! I hope you are all as excited as I am! And in typical missionary fashion, I have a commitment for you all! Yep, every single one of you reading this. Hopefully some of you already do this, but, your commitment is...to listen to conference with a question. At least one question.  And not just one that you thought up as they were singing the opening hymn! Rather, take some time in the week and do some pondering to come up with a question. Because, as we all know, if we don't ask questions, we can't get answers. I try to do this every time and I can testify that when we seek, we will find. When we ask, we shall receive. And when we knock, it shall be opened unto us. So take advantage of this beautiful opportunity to learn from the Lords SERVANTS! And enjoy your week:)

 I love you all! Keep smiling:)
 Love,
 Sister Bice