FROHE WEIHNACHTEN!!‏

..our senior couple is adorable, and they made us these:)

...annnd the bloopers. Always. Hah

LIEBE Freunde und Familie,
Fröliche Weihnacht wünsche ich euch alle! Oh! And Merry Christmas too! I can't believe it is already here! And next week is already...2013! Sheesh! Congratulations, by the way, that you all survived the end of the world. *rolls eyes* Hah. ANYwho!
So! Last week in Wels! You know, it is a really good thing they give us these handy-dandy planners, or I would never ever remembered what I had done in the past week...hah. Tuesday we spent the day in Linz to help the Elders find new investigators. They decided to shake things up a bit, so instead of street contacting, we rode the S-bahn (umm..kind of like a subway?) back and forth across Linz  for a couple of hours and contacted the people that sat next to us. It was actually a lot of fun. :)  We met a way cool guy on the train ride over and gave him a Book of Mormon! Unfortunately, he doesn't live in our area..hah. On Freitag we went...caroling! With the young men and young women..and the ward. Hah. It was actually really neat. We went caroling to some of the inactive members, the elderly widows, and to some of our investigators! I actually wish we had more investigators to go to because it was a really neat experience. I was really impressed with our bishop as well. You can just tell how much love he has for our little ward. It's really inspiring actually. We also met a cool french guy that day. He may been a little bit intoxicated. He said he would come to church on Sunday though! Then he didn't. But! We just keep on looking for the Lord's elect! Hah I think all of my journal entries from the last week look something like "...today was a really great day...I am really tired though...I don't know why..." Hah. Welcome to my life:)    Annd last but not least, Sunday! I LOVE Sundays in Wels Austria! We had our Christmas Sacrament meeting, which was all musical! We have SO much musical talent in our ward. I love it! Sister Drury and I sang in the ward choir, and then I sang in a little "womens group". I knew I was supposed to sing alto on a duet for part of "Silent Night" but last minute they nailed me with a soprano verse too..I haven't sang that high in forever! But I prayed real hard and it all worked out. Hah. The meeting was really powerful though. And there were a lot of part member families there, and a couple members even brought their neighbors. It was great. I love my ward. :)
SO! Now that all the technical stuff is out of the way, ya'll get to bear with me as I share what I've learned this week! And the last couple of weeks in general. While it IS weird not to be home for Christmas..again..I HAVE  really enjoyed this Christmas season, because I haven't been caught up in the madness of presents and parties and and and...I had a wonderful personal study this morning as I pondered about what the Savior means to me, and the relationship I have built with Him over the last year. With some of our members and thanks to Handel's Messiah always being stuck in my head, this last week we have read Isaiah 9:6 together. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." I love all of the different titles for Christ in this verse. And, fun fact, in 2 Nephi 2,9, 30-32 alone are 19 different names. Nineteen! But! My all time favorite of the Saviors titles from the scriptures is the German, "Heiland". We don't have that one in English. Healer. The verb "heilen" means to heal, which is exactly what Christ does for us. The adjective "heil" means "in one piece, in tact, whole" which is what the Savior makes of us. I spent the morning reading of scriptures of healing. Brace yourselves....
2 Kings 20:5 "I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears, behold, I will heal thee..."
Psalms 30:2 "O Lord, my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me."
Psalms 147:2 "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds."
Isaiah 53:5 "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes, we are healed."
Malachi 4:2 "But unto you that free my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings..."
Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the 'Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, preach deliverance to the captives, the recovering of sight to the blind, tho set at liberty them that are bruised."
2 Nephi 25:13 "Behold they will crucify him; after he is laid in a sepulcher for the space of three days he shall rise from the dead, with healing in his wings; and all those who shall believe on his name shall be saved in the kingdom of God.
Alma 15:8 "..if though believest in the redemption of Christ thou canst be healed..."
...and the list goes on. Hah. Those are some of my favorites though. Christ really is our Healer. And how?
1 Nephi 17:41 "And he did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod: for they hardened their hearts, even as e have: and the Lord straitened them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them: and after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished."
Mensch. The "simple labor" we must perform to receive the healing that is possible through the Atonement of Christ is simply to "look" to the Savior. To try to become like Him. To follow His example, and to invite others to do the same. What a wonderful work to be engaged in at this special time of year. Psh, at any time of year!  I will admit, this last week has been filled with battles "in the silent chambers of my heart." I LOVE Wels with my heart and soul, but the work here has just been dragging lately and I guess my fear is that "it's my fault". Which I obviously know isn't entirely true, but I have been searching my soul for things I can give up, things I can change, ways I can be even more obedient, so that we will be able to find the Lord's elect that I KNOW are here. I can feel it. I have a testimony of it. I am just still trying to figure out how to put all that into a plan of action. Hah. I am trying to bear everything with patience, including patience with myself as I come to terms with my weaknesses and try to work out my imperfections in an effort to better serve my Lord. I love this work. I love my Savior. I have a wonderful companion and countless friends out here, and back home. And I am, as always, inexpressibly grateful for the opportunity I have to be on a mission, representing my Lord.
"Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord...Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."
Such were the words of the angel who appeared to the shepherds, and declared the glorious birth of the Shepherd of us all. "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6. Let us use this wonderful time of year to remember with gratitude our Lord and Savior, our Shepherd and Healer, Jesus Christ, and try, in our own little way, to be more like Him. I love you all! And! Wish you, once more, a very merry CHRISTmas. :)
Love,
Sister Bice

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. :)‏

we have been doing a lot of caroling on the streets of austria lately. It is loads of fun! Annnd also really cold..hah

LIEBE Familie und Freunde,
Wow, I can hardly believe that Dezember is halfway over! And Christmas is so close I can smell it! But before I get too caught up in the coming events, lets talk a little about the past, shall we? :)
Mensch, this last week was so great! Ok let's be honest, every week in the life of Sister Bice is so great. I just love being a missionary. :) But! Last week we had...Zone Conference! Wow it was so good! Unfortunately..I left my notebook at home. Hah. But! I guess mostly it just made me think a lot. We talked a lot about Christ, and our relationship with Him. We read the account of Peter walking on water. That story never ceases to teach me. As I reflected on it this time around, I realized truly what the Lord is capable of. I love the quote, "The work of the Lord is done by ordinary people, who work in extraordinary ways." Christ could walk on water, but He was the Son of God. Peter however was an "ordinary" man, who Christ enabled to experience the extraordinary. Peter, so long as He kept His eyes focused on the Savior, was capable of miracles. In fact, he was LIVING a miracle as he walked across the storm tossed sea. And Peter was successful...until! He began to doubt! Peter had no doubt as he lept over the side of the boat to embark across the water to his Savior. The doubt snuck in after his journey had begun. And when it did, Peter began to sink and cried out "Lord, save me!" I thought about myself in Peter's shoes. I too had no doubts when I lept out of the plane in Munich last February! I was ready to hit the streets and convert Germany! There have however been times in the last year where I have perhaps lost sight of my Savior, and doubt has crept in, causing me to begin to sink. But! The beauty of the story? "And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him..." Yep. Time and again has that become a reality on my mission. Regardless of how many times I have been "of little faith" and begun to sink, all I have had to do is cry out "Lord, save me!" And IMMEDIATELY He's been at my side. I mean, we all know I am a terrible swimmer. But these last 12 months, the Lord has been teaching me not only to swim, but to have the faith to walk on water...
So! Besides zone conference Sister Drury and I have been busy delivering cookies to less active members and! We have even had a couple of appointments! Look at us go! We even got to meet with Laura this week! I just love Laura. :) I've missed her! Annd she also taught us how to make Austrian Christmas cookies! Gotta love family home evening! It was so great. Well, mostly great. I woke up that morning not feeling overly well, but kind of just wrote it off. Well there I was mixing cookie dough when all of the sudden...nausea. Hmm...long story short: The last time I got the stomach flu I was in the 8th grade. Since then, I have often asked myself if my body was even capable of throwing up anymore....mystery solved. Annd then Laura fed us dinner. Chili! I should have said no, but it smelled so delicious...and tasted even better! Anywho, after dinner we even got to talk to Laura's mom for a bit (who is WAY cool! And! Asked us a couple of questions about the church!)  At any rate, her family has a great spirit about them. Wonderful people. And Laura is continuing to read in the Book of Mormon and develop her testimony. The gospel is wonderful. :)
......For those of you who were wondering about the delicious chili....it definitely tasted better going down than coming back up. (My apologies to those of you with weak stomachs..) Luckily it was just a little 24 hour flu and I am in tip top shape again! Just still haven't gotten my appetite back..
ANYWHO..At church this week I was in with the young women's class and we watched a little video that said "..Just brighten up the little corner where you are". I really loved that. Sometimes I get a little (hah, a little. Yeah. Right...) overwhelmed in this great work. Annnd in life in general. I mean if we think about it, there is just so much to do! And so many people to please! And never enough hours in the day! And, and, and! But! I am fully convinced that if each of us just focuses on the little corner in which we are found at any given moment, I am sure we can accomplish great good :)
Annnd in reading  the Bible this morning I was just really impressed with Luke 2. (I think it was Lukas 2...) where Gabriel tells Mary she is going to have a Son, namely, the Son of God. The only question she asks is "How?" Which! Sounds a little like doubt, but it was the "perfectly ok" kind of doubt. She doubted her OWN ability, simply not understanding how that was physically possible. She didn't however doubt the Lord, who, as Gabriel explains, had already taken care of that part of the equation. I likened it unto myself. I will admit that sometimes I DO have doubts out here. But they are all concerning MY abilities. But! As Neal A. Maxwell once said, "The Lord doesn't ask about our ability our inability but only about our availability, and if we prove to Him our dependability, He will take care of our capability." Luckily, this work isn't about me! It isn't about what I can and can't do. It's about what I am WILLING to do. What I am willing to do for the Lord. The Lord has a work for me to do, and I know that as I do my part, namely, prove to Him my dependability, He WILL take care of my capability. He did it  for Mary, and He can do it for me.
   Hmm. I feel like this email is a little scatterbrained. Sooo I think I am going to call it quits in an attempt to salvage it before it gets any worse. Hah. I hope you are all lookig forward to Christmas Spirit it brings. :) We are looking forward to another great week here in Wels with some caroling, an exchange with Neumarkt, and of course all of the new people we are going to find that want to learn about the Gospel. :) As for you all,  I hope you have a wonder-filled week! Take some time to read about Christ in the Gospels this week in preparation for CHRISTmas! I love you all and thank you once again for your love and support:) Frohe Weihnacht! 
Love,
Sister Bice

Brrrr. Yep, that's right. Brrrrrrrr.‏

Brrrr. Yep, that's right. Brrrrrrrr.‏

..lame. I started writing an email and it didn't save the draft. Hmph. No use cryin over spilled milk hmm? Ok here we go again...

Liebe Familie und Freunde,
...We just doored the building across from this internet shop. All of the doorbells sounded like something from a horror movie. If my doorbell sounded like that, I wouldn't be in a good mood when I answered the door either....but! We did meet a really sweet family. Unfortunately, the mom didn't speak German. We'll have to bring her by a croation Book of Mormon some time...anywho..
...I am quite certain, that I have NEVER been colder in my entire life as I was this last week. But! Mom, calm down. Today we went shopping, and bought some nice warm stuff. Apparently I've looked really pathetic lately too because some of the ward members brought some stuff for me to borrow on Sunday. I feel like a charity case. Bishop was making fun of me because I was wearing socks at the ward party, and I told him it was because my boots had holes in them and I was drying my feet out. He told me he'd do some begging for me and give me socks for Christmas. Hah. I love my ward. :) Anywho! The ward party! Was wonderful! All the members brought cookies, and we put together cookie plates for Sister Drury and I to bring around to less active members and investigators. They also asked everyone to bring some vegetables, which we all peeled and chopped up to made into soup, which soup we (a little "missionary team" that we put together) served at the soup kitchen here in Wels on Sunday. We sang some Christmas songs for the people there. They cried. It was a neat experience. And I was just so impressed that the ward turned their ward party into a giant missionary service project! Beforehand, we had a mini "one hour ausstellung (street display)" and we had SO many members show up! They even brought their kids! We stuck our table of Book of Mormons right in the middle of the walk way down town, and the kids had a blast giving out pass along cards. They wiped us out! I stamped 150 and was sure that we'd have tons left over, but nope! They handed out everything we had on us! It was the best! There is a little boy in our ward..he is probably about 10..and he was just on fire! It DID break my heart every time somebody rejected him. I mean I can understand them rejecting me..but an adorable little boy?? Hah, he didn't let it slow him down though. I learned a lot from the kids that day actually..amazing...
In other news! Last Friday, I hit my ONE YEAR mark. Has it really been a year already?? I still can't believe it. I've done a LOT of reflecting lately about the last year. And every time I think about it, it amazes me how far I've come...and yet how far I still have to go. At one point I hit a little panic mode when I realized...I only have 6 more months to try and continue to improve and change and become the disciple that Christ needs me to be! I feel like there is so much more I need to do and accomplish and become. But! We have been reading the 4 gospels together as a mission this transfer, and I was really impressed but the parable of the talents this time around. Super interesting parable! Especially with James E. Faust in the game.  . :) Faust says "the apostles, who, while of equal authority through ordination in the Holy Priesthood, as specifically illustrated by the parable of the pounds, were of varied ability, of diverse personality, and unequal generally in nature and in such accomplishments as would be called into service throughout their ministry." Perhaps this prable was directed towards the Apostles, but it was perfect application to...missionaries as well! And of course all of you out there reading this email. :) Though we are all of "equal authority through ordination," we are all different. "Of varied ability and diverse personality." Some of us have 5 talents. Some of us have 2. Other of us may have only one. But the Lord doesn't care "how many" talents we have. I mean, He's the one who gave them to us in the first place. What He cares about, is what we do with the talents that we have. Of some missionaries, or people, is more required than of others, but! It is all proportionate! Both of the faithful servants in this parable recieve the same reward, even though one ended with 10 talents and the other with 4. They both did the best they could with what they had. The Lord knows what we need, and He knows what each of us individually is capable of. He doesn't expect all of us to return to Him with "10 talents", but of all of us, He DOES expect an increase. So! That lead me to ask myself 1) What talents has the Lord given me? 2) What are they? and 3) What am I doing to improve upon and increase them? I think the saddest thing in the world is when we spend our time and energy trying to be something we're not. Sometimes I feel like I can get so caught up looking around me and striving to be like all the people, that I forget that God made ME special too! So1 I would just encourage you all to take a few moments and reflect on YOUR talents, thank your Father in Heaven for them, and then try to decide how you can use them to bless yourself and those around you. And I promise to do the same. :)
Mensch, I feel like I had a lot of good stuff to write this week, and now I am out of time already! I guess I will just have to take a rain check..as in..you will probably have to just wait 6 months to hear stories. Hah. At any rate, I just want you all to know, that I KNOW this church is true. It's funny, I am sure I have said that before in my life..and it's because I really believed it. But I am so grateful for the experiences of the last year of my life that have enabled me to say with every fiber of my being, that I know it. The gospel is true. It's simple. It's possible. And it's perfect. I know my Savior lives. I am so grateful for His perfect example. My favorite song is still "I'm trying to be like Jesus." That is, after all, the greatest thing we can strive for. To become like our Savior. Our Heiland. (Heiland is one of my favorite German words. It's a title for "Savior", but heilen means "to heal". He is indeed our Healer. The Healer of our souls..). I know that the priesthood, the power and authority to act in His name, has been restored to the earth. We are led today by a living prophet who holds and honors that priesthood. And we could not. Be. More. Blessed. So please! In the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, take the time to think about the King of Kings and Lord of Lords whose birth we celebrate this time of year. Take some time for your families. And don't forget the enjoy the moment, because once it's gone, it never comes back.
Ich habe euch alle sehr Lieb!
Love,
Sister Bice

Grüß euch! Und! Einen schönen guten Tag wünsche ich euch alle:)‏

Liebe Familie und Freunde,
Wow I just can't believe that it is DEZEMBER already! When did that happen?! Obviously while I wasn't looking....anywho, today is the 3rd. Which means Friday is the 7th. Which just so happens to be my ONE YEAR mark! I. Can't. Believe it. I feel like I just got here! OK, not really..but I definitely don't feel like I've been here a whole year. I mean, I can't even begin to express my gratitude for this last year of my life. I have learned so much, grown so much, changed so much, and I am looking forward to the next 6 months that I have to continue to serve and try and show the Lord just how much I love Him. I know I'm still in the middle of it, but I can tell you right now that my mission has changed my life. I feel like the lessons I am learning on my mission are going to bless me for the rest of eternity. What an opportunity.
So! This last week was a little slow..but good! But that shouldn't surprise anyone because I am STILL a missionary...and therefor every week is a good week. :) I guess it was all good except for...lunch on Wednesday. We went and helped an old lady in the ward, then she fed us lunch. We sometimes eat crazy things there, but never too bad. She put some rice on my plate, and I thought "oh good! Rice! Rice is normal..." Then out of the next pan she pulled...a big, slimy, jet black piece of sausage. "Blutwurst" she said, and my stomach dropped. Blutwurst is blood sausage, and though I don't REALLY know what that means, the name is bad enough and then the look of the thing? Not to mention it crumbled all over the place when I tried to cut into it...bleh. I didn't translate for Sister Drury. I figured I would let her eat her sausage in peace. She asked me part way through.."Sister bice..are you ok? You don't look so good...." But! No worries. I managed to wrestle it down..AND keep it down. Now let's just hope I don't have to eat another one of those, and I will be a happy camper. :)
Anywho! Just for the record, things are still going well with my new comp! We definitely come from different pasts....but! Our present is united in purpose. "To invite others to come unto Christ..." And so! What else matters? :)
So Thursday! Thursday was a little bit crazy. But! It was great! We visited an older Schwester in the ward. She is always sick and mostly deaf, but never loses sight of hope. We had a lesson, then she had Sister Drury say a prayer...annd then she had me say a prayer....then she said a prayer. And it was beautiful. It really hit home what it means to "become like a child" for me. It was so simple, yet so fervent and so full of faith and gratitude as she pleaded with the Lord. At the end she said "..I know you can heal me.." and in that moment, I knew it too. That little prayer was a testimony to me that not only can the Lord heal that dear sweet sister, He can heal all of us. And He will, if we come unto Him "as a little child". I was really grateful for the experience and the lesson I learned from it:) And! Thursday night! Also wonderful! We had a lesson with Familie Martinez. She is a single mom and we have met with her a couple of times, but this time her two kids joined us as well and we had a great lesson on the Book of Mormon. At the end, Sister Drury suggested we say a kneeling prayer together. We all kneeled and Sister Drury reached to grab something, and Carmen (the mom) thought she was going for her hand so she offered it out to her..then they were both a little awkward and embarrassed so to save the situation I said "That's a great idea Sister Drury! Why don't we all hold hands while we pray?" Sooo we did. Hah. We laughed about it later, but I really think it was good for this little family to kneel in a circle and join hands in prayer. I love the gospel. And I love what it has to offer families:) Anywho, after our lesson we rode the train out to Linz. Sister Drury had some concerns she had expressed to me the night before and she wanted to get a blessing from the Elders. It was a neat experience as well. She hadn't told the Elders anything, but as I listened to the blessing I was amazed as every one of her concerns were addressed. It was just one more testament to me of the power of the priesthood. In fact, a couple of weeks ago I was really sick for about 5 days and not sleeping at night and..it was awful. Then on p-day I got a blessing from the elders, and the next day, I was totally fine, and have been fit as a fiddle ever since!
Annnd of course the ward here in Wels is as wonderful as ever. Our ward Christmas party is all centered on missionary work and visiting the less active members. The darling members here make Wels a little bit of heaven on earth. :) Yesterday in church we talked about enduring to the end, and someone shared a thought along the lines of...enduring to the end doesn't mean reaching a point and then flat lining it until "the end"...it's not a straight line. There will still be ups, and downs. The important thing, is that the overall line is always going up! I love it. We are not called to be perfect, we are called to make progress. :) Anywho, Bishop shared another good object lesson in his testimony. He was talking about his washing machine (..i think..) and some little valve on it that broke. He'd said to the repairman "I just don't understand how it broke..I never even USE that little valve..." And the repairman said "..which is exactly WHY it broke." Then he likened that unto us and the gospel. Take our testimony for example. I don't think a testimony could ever be diminished by sharing it "too much". When it comes to sharing testimonies, there is no such thing as "too much"! It is when we don't use them ENOUGH that they are in danger of "breaking". Hmm. Simple but true! I also had the opportunity to bear my testimony in sacrament yesterday. Which always makes me nervous. And also makes me forget all the German I ever learned..hah. But! I've just been so impressed with the joy I have been able to find on my mission. I heard in seminary once a quote that said something along the lines of "There is nothing that could happen in any given day, that could take away the joy we experience through the restored gospel.." Back then I thought to myself "psh, there is PLENTY that could happen on any given day to take my joy away!" But! I have really come to know the truthfulness of that little quote here on my mission. I mean, I have lived an incredibly blessed life. I have a wonderful family, friends, and and and. And yet I have never been happier than I am now on my mission. Which, according to one of our young women shouldn't really add up because on a mission "you have to go to bed early, you have to wake up early, you can't listen to music, and you spend all day talking to people who don't want to talk to you and probably don't even like you..." Which! I guess is true to some extent..hah. So WHY do we experience so much joy on a mission? The conclusion I came to was 1) on my mission, I have tried harder to be EXACTLY obedient to ALL the rules (commandments) more than ever before in my life, and 2) on my mission, I have tried harder to spread the gospel and share my testimony more than ever before in my life. Which leads me to believe that if any of YOU are looking for a little more joy in your life, there is the key! Try a little harder to keep the commandments and try a little harder to share the gospel. And so! That is exactly what I would like to invite you all to do! After all, who ISN'T looking for a little more joy in life?:)
Annd on that note I have to scamper! I am every day grateful to my Father in Heaven for this wonderful opportunity to be here, serving Him. I am also grateful for my wonderful support squad back home:) Thank you all for your prayers and your love! Have a lovely week and, as always, don't forget to SMILE!
Love,
Sister Bice