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| ..our senior couple is adorable, and they made us these:) |
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...annnd the bloopers. Always. Hah |
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
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