Liebe Familie und Freunde,
What. A. Week. Hmmm. What happened? Where to start...
This
last week we FINALLY met with Leo again! He is SO solid! Way cool kid.
WAY cool testimony of the gospel. Now, he just needs to decide what to
do with it!
This last week (and by this last week I actually mean today..hah) we had
an AWESOME p-day in Gmunden! Which! Is beautiful. Our train left at the
crack of dawn and got about 100 feet from the station before..it broke.
So we had to sit for a while. And then wait for the next train..an hour
later. But! That was perfect because I got talking to the kid next to
me who was AWESOME! And from Wels. We swapped numbers, and hopefully the
Sisters can have an appoinment with him soon!
This last week we visited a member in the ward we haven't seen forever.
She gave us coffee. A lot of member here give us "coffee" but it's
actually postum. Yeah. No. This one was coffee, which I figured out
after dipping a cookie into it. She told us it wasn't a sin to drink it
just this once buuuut...naja. I hope she wasn't too offended that, after
a long discussion, we left it untouched on the table.
This last week we went to young mens/young womens! It was so good!! They
had a missionary theme and so we went and answered a whole slew of
questions! Annd then the elders had a contest with the young men to see
who could do the most cumulative push-ups. Haha. It was a lot of fun.
This last week we pulled our bikes out of the keller! Woo! Freedom! I
loooove me some bike riding. Annd sister Judd was hilarious. She almost
died. Like 10 times. She went to swing her leg over the first
time...bahaha. Umm, with a girl bike, you don't have to do that..annnd
she got her leg caught on the basket..annnnd man. I don't think I have
laughed so hard in a long time. Psh, who am I kidding..I am always
laughing..but! It is great to be on bikes again:)
This last week we had Stake Conference! In Salzburg. It was great! Annd
on the way home, (we were riding with some members..)...the car
motor....died. Straight up. So we got to sit on the side of the
auto-bahn for a while until the tow man came and towed us to a little
town, where we had to wait for the other tow truck and..naja. It was an
adventure. The Schöneborns are so great. They had a great attitude about
the whole thing.
This last week we had ZONE CONFERENCE!! It was SO GOOD! zone conference
is always good, but this one was especially good. I don't know exactly
what it was to be honest. I mean yeah I heard a lot of great things
but..what I felt? I think I felt the spirit more that day than any other
given day..of my life. Well, maybe not but..it was definitely up there.
Which was interesting because what I was feeling and what I was
learning had relatively little to do with what was actually being said
by anyone. Mostly, the Spirit used zone conference as a wonderful
opportunity to teach me a lot about faith. It never ceases to amaze me
that although faith is the first principle of the gospel, I can never
learn too much about it. Wow. I realized that I need to let my faith
guide my goals a little more. So..I will work on it:) It was so great. I
would try to pass on all the wonderful things I learned but..I can't.
And! I think my favorite part was the testimony meeting at the end. They
always have the new missionaries give testimony, and the ones going
home. It was so powerful. To start it off, my distrikt sang a beautiful
arrangement "I know that my Redeemer Lives". At the end of the meeting
president sometimes calls 2 extra missionaries to bear testimony. One of
them was Elder Weidman, the senior missionary in our district here. I
love the Weidman's. At the end of his testimony he said "And now I am
going to pick on Sister Bice a little bit...I don't know if you all
heard her during the song..I'm sure you did (..Everyone knows I sing
loud..oops.) but I was standing next to you. And I tell you what, when
that line "I know that my Redeemer lives" is sung loud and clear...it is
powerful." His lovely wife leaned over and told me that they loved me.
Mensch. I love the Weidman's. I am going to miss them. Sister Weidman
cried when I called and told her about transfers...
Oh, right. This last week we had transfer calls. I wrote my feelings the
night before.."Dear me,...Transfer calls are tomorrow. I'm...nervous.
Well. Not nervous necessarily. I just..I don't know. I am just so up in
the air with this one. I have NO idea what God has in mind for me,
except that I know it will be what is best for me. That's the best thing
about transfers--knowing that the Man in charge..knows Me. Way better
than I know me. And therefore He also knows what is best for me, as well
as for the people I am serving. this is probably the only transfer on
my mission where I can honestly say that..I have no preference as to
what happens. I guess maybe it is just a peace that comes with trying to
surrender your will to God? Something I have finally learned after 10
transfers..hah. Naja. So, nervous for what will happen? No. A little
uneasy aobut the unknown? Yep.But! Come what may and love it right?"
Annd then Friday morning.."Dear me, so, transfer calls. The moment we
have all been waiting for hmm? Luckily we didn't have to wait long.
President called shortly before 8am and informed sister Judd that she
would be training. Here in Wels. Which leaves little room for little old
me. She gave me the phone.."Sister Bice, we want to thank you for your
wonderful service in Wels..." ...I am getting transferred. They're
sending me back to my "homeland" of..Germany. Stuttgart. Now, you may be
thinking to yourselves, "but Sister Bice, I thought there weren't any
Sisters in Stuttgart?" Well, there aren't. Yet.
I will be white washing.
And by white washing, I mean opening the area...
....and training.
Scared? Not necessarily. Fear and faith can't co-exist. Scared? No. Humbled?
Yes.
Mensch.
I really love Wels so much. It is going to break my heart to leave
these people. But the Lord has other plans for me. "I'll go where you
want me to go, dear Lord.." I'll step into the unknown. Mensch. Opening
an area and training. I feel like I should be..terrified. But I'm not.
If there is one thing the Lord has taught me on my mission its to trust
in Him. I have NO idea what the next 2 transfers are going to look like
but..i know what I'll learn what I'm supposed to learn, I'll meet who
I#m supposed to meet, and If I do my best to try my best, I'll
accomplish whatever it is the Lord is sending me to Stuttgart to
accomplish..whatever that may be.."
...Yep. I feel like that journal entry pretty much sums up my feelings
right now. Well, a small portion of them anyway. Except for the fact
that "it's going to break my heart to leave these people" is turning out
to be an understatement. The last few days have been filled with
goodbye's and aufwiedersehen's. It has not. Been. Fun. I will miss my
little Welsers....so much. But! Rather that be sad that I have to leave
them, I will just be grateful, ever so grateful, for the wonderful
opportunity that I had to serve at their side these last 7 months....
Do you know who else I will miss? Sister Judd. She has been a gem. But
she is going to make a great trainer. I am excited for the adventures
that lie ahead for her...and! She lives in Vegas. So I will be sure to
visit her after her mish:)
Ok I know I didn't give you any spiritual thoughts but..my time is up
for the week. Forgive me? I will see what I can do for you next week. I
love you all! Thanks for your support and your prayers!!
Love,
Sister Bice
Ps. no new address yet but I'll get it to you next week. Loves!!
Monday, March 18, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
Liebe Familie und Freunde,
Sooo I figured I would start this week off with a little good news for mom...Last night we visited a darling family that I haven't seen in 3 months. They are so great. They also speak Turkish. Well, the dad does. And his son in law or daughter translate for us. So! We are there just chatting a bit and Herr Iding says something in Turkish while pointing to me, and his daughter, embarrassed translates "You've gained some weight since we last saw you! You've gotten more beautiful! A little flesh on your face suits you well.." Bahaha. Best. Day. Ever. Later, they had a full table of cookies in front of us and said we should eat more and I cracked a joke about already having gained weight and Herr Iding says, "...it's better so." Hmm..what's the old saying..."beauty is in the eye of the beholder"? Naja. Looks like I should start actually trying to do some morning sport hmm? *wink*
So! This week....was crazy. I feel like every week is crazy so I am more or less used to it. I decided that God has us make plans, just so He can change them. But! "..It's better so". :) There was just a lot going on. Sometimes I still get the feeling that we run and run and run and sometimes It appears to be in circles..but! We are certainly trying our best and that is all we have to offer. So! Yeah. Monday was district pday. Tuesday was finding day in Linz. (Which! Was way good. I did some contacting with one of our zone leaders...so good! I learned a lot.) Wednesday was SISTER JUDD'S BIRTHDAY! Happy Birthday sister Judd! Have you ever tried to surprise a mission companion? It is really hard. Because they are with you..always. But! I managed to throw a little something together while she was in the shower..hah. We also had an exchange on Wednesday. Annd Thursday we were supposed to switch back but the train that sister Judd and Sister Armstrong were on got delayed for EVER so Sister Reid and I went to our appointment in Eferding which was AWESOME! Romana! She is a friend from a member in Haag, and she is really cool. It was our first appointment, and she wants to learn more about the plan of salvation so..yay! Freitag we went to a funeral. Usually we don't do stuff like that but the members called and asked us to and wanted us to sing by the grave. It was a catholic funeral. (It was the wife of a member in our ward, but she wasn't a member..) It was..really interesting. And REALLY made me grateful for the gospel. We sang "God be with you till we meet again" at the graveside. What a beautiful song, with a beautiful message. Speaking of beautiful messages...the funeral program had a neat quote on it. "The most beautiful thing a person can leave behind is a smile on the faces of those that think of them". I think that goes for a lot of things in life. How neat would it be if we all lived in such a way as l was to leave a smile on the faces of those who ever think on us? Anywho. Saturday was our "mission wide cleaning day" so Sara came over and we gutted out the apartment and now it looks great..except the hot water heater in the shower doesn't work anymore..uhh...naja! And yesterday was ward conference! And next week is stake conference! And ZONE CONFERENCE!! I am real excited. Missions are great. Life is good. I'm not gonna lie, I had a few moments this week where I felt like my entire missionary world was crashing down on me but...I am still kickin'. I have spent lots of time on my knees lately trying to figure out what I need to change to be where God needs me to be. Sometimes it's a little hard to understand why things are the way they are with my tiny grasp of life and the gospel but! God is always patient with me. I feel like the more I learn, the more I realize that..I know nothing. But it's a blessing right? Hah.
I read a great scripture yesterday! Our mission is reading the Book of Mormon together and right now we are in Alma. Alma 33:23 "...and even all this can ye do if ye will." The german translates into something like.."And all of this you can you..if you want to." Agency! The desires of our hearts. "You gotta want it." I think sometimes we think the gospel sounds like a great idea--eternal life, forever families, etc--but we have a hard time actually grasping what that means for us NOW. I feel like if I really realized what the gospel has to offer as and "end effect" most of the little temptations in life wouldn't be tempting at all! The gospel is not hard. We just have to want it. And we have to want it more than anything. Our desires to become like Christ have to be great enough to outweigh any sort of temptation we may be faced with. Which! I find to be a lot easier when I stop thinking so much about myself and start thinking a little more about others. In ward conference yesterday someone said something along the lines of "..Christ used his two hands to serve.." It made me think of all the things we use our hands for. Most forms of art involve the hands. Most forms of work involve the hands. Most kinds of hobbies involve the hands...we use our hands for lots. But! Sometimes we get our two little hands so busy doing other things that we forget to use them for the very thing I am almost certain God created them for--to serve others. So! this is getting long so I will scamper off.. I love you all! Don't forget to smile! And! If you ever find yourself twiddling your thumbs, get up and find someone to serve! "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. AS WE HAVE THEREFOR OPPORTUNITY, let us do good unto all men..." Galations 6:9-10
I wish you all a lovely week! Alles Gute!
Love,
Sister Bice
Sooo I figured I would start this week off with a little good news for mom...Last night we visited a darling family that I haven't seen in 3 months. They are so great. They also speak Turkish. Well, the dad does. And his son in law or daughter translate for us. So! We are there just chatting a bit and Herr Iding says something in Turkish while pointing to me, and his daughter, embarrassed translates "You've gained some weight since we last saw you! You've gotten more beautiful! A little flesh on your face suits you well.." Bahaha. Best. Day. Ever. Later, they had a full table of cookies in front of us and said we should eat more and I cracked a joke about already having gained weight and Herr Iding says, "...it's better so." Hmm..what's the old saying..."beauty is in the eye of the beholder"? Naja. Looks like I should start actually trying to do some morning sport hmm? *wink*
So! This week....was crazy. I feel like every week is crazy so I am more or less used to it. I decided that God has us make plans, just so He can change them. But! "..It's better so". :) There was just a lot going on. Sometimes I still get the feeling that we run and run and run and sometimes It appears to be in circles..but! We are certainly trying our best and that is all we have to offer. So! Yeah. Monday was district pday. Tuesday was finding day in Linz. (Which! Was way good. I did some contacting with one of our zone leaders...so good! I learned a lot.) Wednesday was SISTER JUDD'S BIRTHDAY! Happy Birthday sister Judd! Have you ever tried to surprise a mission companion? It is really hard. Because they are with you..always. But! I managed to throw a little something together while she was in the shower..hah. We also had an exchange on Wednesday. Annd Thursday we were supposed to switch back but the train that sister Judd and Sister Armstrong were on got delayed for EVER so Sister Reid and I went to our appointment in Eferding which was AWESOME! Romana! She is a friend from a member in Haag, and she is really cool. It was our first appointment, and she wants to learn more about the plan of salvation so..yay! Freitag we went to a funeral. Usually we don't do stuff like that but the members called and asked us to and wanted us to sing by the grave. It was a catholic funeral. (It was the wife of a member in our ward, but she wasn't a member..) It was..really interesting. And REALLY made me grateful for the gospel. We sang "God be with you till we meet again" at the graveside. What a beautiful song, with a beautiful message. Speaking of beautiful messages...the funeral program had a neat quote on it. "The most beautiful thing a person can leave behind is a smile on the faces of those that think of them". I think that goes for a lot of things in life. How neat would it be if we all lived in such a way as l was to leave a smile on the faces of those who ever think on us? Anywho. Saturday was our "mission wide cleaning day" so Sara came over and we gutted out the apartment and now it looks great..except the hot water heater in the shower doesn't work anymore..uhh...naja! And yesterday was ward conference! And next week is stake conference! And ZONE CONFERENCE!! I am real excited. Missions are great. Life is good. I'm not gonna lie, I had a few moments this week where I felt like my entire missionary world was crashing down on me but...I am still kickin'. I have spent lots of time on my knees lately trying to figure out what I need to change to be where God needs me to be. Sometimes it's a little hard to understand why things are the way they are with my tiny grasp of life and the gospel but! God is always patient with me. I feel like the more I learn, the more I realize that..I know nothing. But it's a blessing right? Hah.
I read a great scripture yesterday! Our mission is reading the Book of Mormon together and right now we are in Alma. Alma 33:23 "...and even all this can ye do if ye will." The german translates into something like.."And all of this you can you..if you want to." Agency! The desires of our hearts. "You gotta want it." I think sometimes we think the gospel sounds like a great idea--eternal life, forever families, etc--but we have a hard time actually grasping what that means for us NOW. I feel like if I really realized what the gospel has to offer as and "end effect" most of the little temptations in life wouldn't be tempting at all! The gospel is not hard. We just have to want it. And we have to want it more than anything. Our desires to become like Christ have to be great enough to outweigh any sort of temptation we may be faced with. Which! I find to be a lot easier when I stop thinking so much about myself and start thinking a little more about others. In ward conference yesterday someone said something along the lines of "..Christ used his two hands to serve.." It made me think of all the things we use our hands for. Most forms of art involve the hands. Most forms of work involve the hands. Most kinds of hobbies involve the hands...we use our hands for lots. But! Sometimes we get our two little hands so busy doing other things that we forget to use them for the very thing I am almost certain God created them for--to serve others. So! this is getting long so I will scamper off.. I love you all! Don't forget to smile! And! If you ever find yourself twiddling your thumbs, get up and find someone to serve! "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. AS WE HAVE THEREFOR OPPORTUNITY, let us do good unto all men..." Galations 6:9-10
I wish you all a lovely week! Alles Gute!
Love,
Sister Bice
Monday, March 4, 2013
Giving Our best!
Liebe Familie und Freunde,
Oh hey! It's little old me again! Sending out once again from little old Wels:)
So! Scripture study this morning! (Hey! Don't roll your eyes! I AM a missionary you know..*wink*) Sooo the story of the conversion of King Lamoni"s father? So good. Alma 22:15. I read this verse and couldn't help but ask myself why my personal prayers aren't filled with these kinds of questions. "What shall I do that I may have this eternal life..?" "What shall I do that I may be born of God having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, that I may receive His spirit, that I may be filled with joy that I might not be cast off a the last day?"
...and then the beautiful submission of our own will to the will of the Lord..."Behold..I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my Kingdom, that I may have this great joy..(v. 18) and I will give away all my sins to know thee.." Wow. I read these verses and think of all the little silly things on a daily basis that I am "not willing" to give up to the Lord, when Lamoni's father was willing to give up EVERYTHING. What did he get that we sometimes fail to understand? What holds us back? What needs to change in our hearts that we too be willing to give up all that we possess and all of our sins to know our God?...Just something to think about. I am still working on my answers. Hah.
Anywho..Wels! Weee had an interesting week here in Wels. We started out full speed with several appointments and whatnot and throughout the week...they all cancelled on us. Every single one of them. But we tried to use our time as effectively as possible and..naja. We sat down on Sunday night to tally our key indicators and asked ourselves where the week had gone and what we had actually accomplished. I feel like we ran and ran and ran and..had nothing to show for it. It was, for a few moments, a little discouraging and a little bit frustrating. Which clearly means I need to work on my faith, trust, and above all, patience. I always think of Preach my Gospel ch. 6 under patience. "Patience is the ability to withstand trials and temptations without becoming discouraged or frustrated.." That isn't what it says but that is how I remember it in my head. Obviously I am not there yet. It was just a weird week. But, in end effect, I am really grateful for it, because it really made me do some reflecting about why I am actually here. I mean I just love Wels. So much. And I would love to see some success even just for the members sake. But that isn't why I am here. I remembered a quote I have on my desk that I got from a good friend. "We can't get side tracked by results. Our job is effort." Every time I read that it rings true..I just sometimes forget to put it into practice. I mean I feel like there is certainly a difference between "trying our best", "giving our best", and "trying to give our best." but I believe that all 3 are acceptable to the Lord. It isn't about the results. It is about the effort we put in. That is our job. Effort! To a degree, success can be "measured" by effort. but effort isn't measured by success. Effort is between us and the Lord. We know if we are giving our best in life, or at least honestly trying to. And true success (or at least how I see it..) is learning to be content with the will of the Lord and to keep pushing forward with a smile on your face because you love Him, not because you're "successful". I once read a quote that said "Hoffnung is nicht die überzeugung dass etwas gut ausgeht, sondern die Gewissheit, dass etwas Sinn hat, egal wie es ausgeht"-Voclav Havel. Soo roughly translated.."Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, rather the assurity that something has meaning, regardless of how it turns out." I feel like that sums up missionary work pretty nicely. Last night while writing in my journal, I really thought about why I am here. I am not here on a mission because the Lord promised me that everyone I talked to would listen. I am here because I love the Lord and I love this restored gospel that has changed my life and made me who I am. I am here because I know it's true and I know it's true because God has revealed it's truthfulness to me and granted me a testimony through His spirit--a testimony that I can no sooner deny nor forget, as pretend that He doesn't expect me to share it with others. That's why I'm here. Because Jesus is the Christ, our Savior. The Healer of our Souls. He has healed my soul more times that I can count. That's why I came on a mission. That's why I've stayed. And that's what's going to keep me going till the very last moment...regardless of how "successful" I measure up in the eyes of men..
Naja. Sorry for my little "ah-ha" moment. Mostly, I am really grateful to be here. I am learning lessons that that I don't think I could have learned any other way. I can't believe the time is going so fast and the end is growing ever closer. But! The end of this calling will only be the beginning of a new. I am determined to serve the Lord to the best of my ability and am grateful for His patience as I sometimes struggle along the way. :)
Alright I am out! Of time..and energy..and things to write. Hah. But! I hope you all have a lovely week! I know I will! We may have had no appointments last week, but we at least have some good ones set up for this week! Bring it on:)
Ich hab euch lieb!!
Love, Sister Bice
Oh hey! It's little old me again! Sending out once again from little old Wels:)
So! Scripture study this morning! (Hey! Don't roll your eyes! I AM a missionary you know..*wink*) Sooo the story of the conversion of King Lamoni"s father? So good. Alma 22:15. I read this verse and couldn't help but ask myself why my personal prayers aren't filled with these kinds of questions. "What shall I do that I may have this eternal life..?" "What shall I do that I may be born of God having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, that I may receive His spirit, that I may be filled with joy that I might not be cast off a the last day?"
...and then the beautiful submission of our own will to the will of the Lord..."Behold..I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my Kingdom, that I may have this great joy..(v. 18) and I will give away all my sins to know thee.." Wow. I read these verses and think of all the little silly things on a daily basis that I am "not willing" to give up to the Lord, when Lamoni's father was willing to give up EVERYTHING. What did he get that we sometimes fail to understand? What holds us back? What needs to change in our hearts that we too be willing to give up all that we possess and all of our sins to know our God?...Just something to think about. I am still working on my answers. Hah.
Anywho..Wels! Weee had an interesting week here in Wels. We started out full speed with several appointments and whatnot and throughout the week...they all cancelled on us. Every single one of them. But we tried to use our time as effectively as possible and..naja. We sat down on Sunday night to tally our key indicators and asked ourselves where the week had gone and what we had actually accomplished. I feel like we ran and ran and ran and..had nothing to show for it. It was, for a few moments, a little discouraging and a little bit frustrating. Which clearly means I need to work on my faith, trust, and above all, patience. I always think of Preach my Gospel ch. 6 under patience. "Patience is the ability to withstand trials and temptations without becoming discouraged or frustrated.." That isn't what it says but that is how I remember it in my head. Obviously I am not there yet. It was just a weird week. But, in end effect, I am really grateful for it, because it really made me do some reflecting about why I am actually here. I mean I just love Wels. So much. And I would love to see some success even just for the members sake. But that isn't why I am here. I remembered a quote I have on my desk that I got from a good friend. "We can't get side tracked by results. Our job is effort." Every time I read that it rings true..I just sometimes forget to put it into practice. I mean I feel like there is certainly a difference between "trying our best", "giving our best", and "trying to give our best." but I believe that all 3 are acceptable to the Lord. It isn't about the results. It is about the effort we put in. That is our job. Effort! To a degree, success can be "measured" by effort. but effort isn't measured by success. Effort is between us and the Lord. We know if we are giving our best in life, or at least honestly trying to. And true success (or at least how I see it..) is learning to be content with the will of the Lord and to keep pushing forward with a smile on your face because you love Him, not because you're "successful". I once read a quote that said "Hoffnung is nicht die überzeugung dass etwas gut ausgeht, sondern die Gewissheit, dass etwas Sinn hat, egal wie es ausgeht"-Voclav Havel. Soo roughly translated.."Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, rather the assurity that something has meaning, regardless of how it turns out." I feel like that sums up missionary work pretty nicely. Last night while writing in my journal, I really thought about why I am here. I am not here on a mission because the Lord promised me that everyone I talked to would listen. I am here because I love the Lord and I love this restored gospel that has changed my life and made me who I am. I am here because I know it's true and I know it's true because God has revealed it's truthfulness to me and granted me a testimony through His spirit--a testimony that I can no sooner deny nor forget, as pretend that He doesn't expect me to share it with others. That's why I'm here. Because Jesus is the Christ, our Savior. The Healer of our Souls. He has healed my soul more times that I can count. That's why I came on a mission. That's why I've stayed. And that's what's going to keep me going till the very last moment...regardless of how "successful" I measure up in the eyes of men..
Naja. Sorry for my little "ah-ha" moment. Mostly, I am really grateful to be here. I am learning lessons that that I don't think I could have learned any other way. I can't believe the time is going so fast and the end is growing ever closer. But! The end of this calling will only be the beginning of a new. I am determined to serve the Lord to the best of my ability and am grateful for His patience as I sometimes struggle along the way. :)
Alright I am out! Of time..and energy..and things to write. Hah. But! I hope you all have a lovely week! I know I will! We may have had no appointments last week, but we at least have some good ones set up for this week! Bring it on:)
Ich hab euch lieb!!
Love, Sister Bice
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)