Lieber Familie und Freunde,
Sooo I am assuming that most of you have probably already heard the news, but for those of you that haven't....
MY
BABY SIS IS GOING ON A MISSION!! She has been assigned to labor in the
Colorado Springs mission (including the states of Colorado, Oklahoma,
New Mexico, and Kansas), and enters the MTC on February 27th! And! I am
SOOOOOOOOOOO excited for her!! My mission has changed my life, and I
can't wait for the wonderful experiences that lie ahead of her. Mensch!
Look out world! Here comes another Sister Bice!! :D
Naja. That may or may not have been the highlight of my week. Hi, my
name is Sister Bice, and I love missionaries. :) Speaking of
missionaries! Sister Drury and I had another great week here in Wels. We
are still on the search for the Lord's elect, and we still have smiles
on our faces! Sister Drury really is a blessing. Except for the fact
that as I was innocently sitting on my bed writing in my journal last
week, I got attacked by a vicious slobbery SNOW BALL! What the what??
Nasty little stuff. But! Appalled as I was that Siste Drury would stoop
to such a childish act, I decided to play the bigger man and not to get
mad, rather to get even. She may or may not ahve ended up with a handful
of snow down her shirt. Why? Because I love her. :) Haha. Really
though, I have been SO blessed with companions on my mission. All of
them are like sisters to me, and I would do anything for 'em. I am so
grateful for the best friends I have found in all of them...at any rate,
Sister Drury and I somehow manage not only to keep
sane in Wels, but to LOVE every day of it. One thing I have learned out
here is that
happiness is completely independent of what is happening in your life.
Happiness has to come from within. And! I am happy. :)
Soo we were
walking home on Friday after getting stood up for an appointment, when
we bumped into a girl named Rebekah, that I also happened to bump into
my first day in Wels. Her parents were members of the church when she
was younger, but when they left so did she. She is really nice and open
though. And! She had her darling 4 year old daughter with her. Lily Sky.
She was super shy when I asked her what her name was. She whispered it
like a little church mouse and her mom had to help her out. Hah. So we
stood and chatted with her mom a bit when all of the sudden little Lily
came and hugged up to me as I was standing there on the sidewalk and
hung on for the rest of the couple minutes of conversation. So.
Adorable. I don't know what came over her. We decided that children can
just feel the spirit because they are just a little bit closer to
heaven. I really do believe that. Anywho, we are hoping to get an
appointment with her one of these days. She's is super neat.
So! I have decided that one of the things I will dearly miss about my
mission is...comp study. I think I am going to have to sucker my mom
into doing it with me when I get home. (Did ya hear that mom? Consider
yourself warned..hah.) Sister Drury and I were talking in study the
other day and she said something that President told her in interviews
last week. Something along the Lines of.."You (so, us as
missionaries..or as people in general) are the tool. When the Lord needs
you, He'll pick you up and use you." But! Until then! You gotta keep
the rust off! Keep doing whatever it is you can do (..that includes not
worrying about what all the other tools in the shed are doing..) so you
re ready so that when He DOES need you, He can, and will use you. I mean
we hear all the time that we are "tools in the hand of the Lord" But! A
tool can do nothing of itself. This work isn't about us! It is about
the Master. In his hands, we can do wonders. What a beautiful concept.
And there are all shapes and sizes of people for the same reason there
are lots of shapes and sizes of tools. When you build a house, you need
lots of different tools for lots of different tasks! Sometimes you need a
saw, other times you need a hammer, or a screwdriver, etc. Well in
building the Kingdom of the Lord, there are also lots of tasks to be
done, and each person "has a work to do". So! The goal is just to be
patient and worthy, and trust that when the Lord does need you, He will
pick you up, and use you to further the building up of His Kingdom.
Annd before I go I also wanna share a line from a song I heard this
week. It is one of those "little bit cheesy" church songs that sometimes
drive me crazy, but I really like it. It is called "back into the
Light" and says
"You've tried to ignore the mistakes, you've tried to ignore the pain...bring it into the light where mercy can reach you."
...Big
fan. I have definitely played that game before in my life. The "ignore
the mistakes and ignore the pain" game. Why? I have no idea. I wouldn't
recommend it. It always ends in tears. I love that my mission has taught
me that mistakes are made to be confronted and learned from, and pain
is there to teach and then be healed. If we are always trying to hide
our "wounds" with band-aids when in reality we need stitches, they never
get properly taken care of and a lot of times they get infected. We rob
ourselves of the healing power of the Atonement. We all know how much
we hated the big brown bottle of peroxide as kids because we knew it
meant pain, but our loving parents knew that in the long run we would be
better off for it. The Lord knows that making mistakes and learning
from them is sometimes a little uncomfortable, but in the long run, we
are better off for it. The fact of the matter is: it is ok not to be
perfect. We may have scars, but that doesn't make us scarred. The Savior
heals us lovingly, if we allow Him to. We need only place ourselves in a
place "where mercy can reach us". And we are the ones with the ability
to do so..
Annd the other line.."You don't have to stay on this path, you can
change with your very next
step. Bring yourself into the light where mercy can reach you.." I just
loved it because it goes along with all of the things I have learned
about change on my mission. I used to look at change as kind of an
abstract principle that was hard to grasp. I mean I always had goals and
visions and would do things that I HOPED where bringing me in the right
direction, but for the most part I guess I figured that one day I would
just look around and realize I was there. Welll we all know how false
that is. Hah. We are very much in control of change. At least to a large
degree. If I want to change something, the place is here and the time
is now! Regardless of where I am at in life. Change begins with "the
very next step." I heard a quote once.something like.."Our biggest
challenge in life will be to believe that we can change." I forget who
said it but it's true. Satan tells us that we are failures from the
get-go and that we can't change. I feel like that is one of his favorite
lies. But that goes against the entire plan of Salvation and especially
against the Atonement. Not only CAN we change, but we are EXPECTED to
change. And! We are promised divine help as we do so. Ether 12:27. :)
The last 13 months have been full of changes in me and
around me. I feel like I just got here, but
in reality I am on the downhill slope! Which means my steps are
numbered and I need to make every one of them count! Which I plan on
doing to the best of my ability, which coupled with the help of the Lord
will be enough. :)
Ok I am once again out of time. But I love you
all so very much and thank you once again for your love and prayers.
Have a lovely week and don't forget to smile!
Love,
Sister Bice
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