Guten Montag!‏

Liebe Familie und Freunde,

Wow! I can't believe I've been here in Germany two weeks already! Where did the time go...

Good news! This last week was considerably warmer. Woo! Apparently it's been a really cold winter for them (go figure..) but March is supposed to be the last month of winter so..fingers crossed?

So! This week, I extended my first baptismal commitment! To Rodrigo. Annnd he said no..but it was more of a no, not yet? I think one thing I have really learned here, is you lose nothing in trying things. In talking to people on the street for example. Most of them walk past you and pretend like you haven't said anything..but! Nothing is lost. So, while it would have been AWESOME had he said yes, it was good to ask him anyway. That lesson was actually probably my favorite so far. See, usually we plan out all the things I will say in a lesson, and I don't actually say much. But this time i got brave. We were talking about the Book of Mormon, and he said he had read it a little but it didn't feel any different than any other book. (He didn't pray before he read..hmph) Anywho, I saw a guitar in the corner of the room, and a thought popped into my mind. i fought it off for a minute, because I didn't know if I could say what I wanted to in German. Then i decided just to go for it. I made a simple comparison between the two, telling him that "the first time I picked up the guitar, i was awful! But that didn't mean I couldn't play guitar. It simply meant i needed to practice. Sometimes, it's the same with things like the Book of Mormon. When I read it as a kid, it was sometimes hard to understand, and I didn't always feel the spirit. But, turns out I just needed practice, and now it's my favorite book..." etc. I didn't know if I had made a lick of sense or not, and my comp kind of stared at me for a sec. Uh...but! After the lesson back at the Wohnung, she said, "So in the lesson today when you started talking about that stuff we hadn't planned.." Uh oh..I was waiting for some corrections...but, then she continued, "Your German was perfect! I mean literally, every word was right. I was surprised!" So! Moral of the story: life is always better when we let go of our fears and let Christ take the wheel. It was a neat experience. At any rate, I think Rodrigo just needs more time. Hopefully we can get a hold of him this week...

Saturday! Was so good! We were supposed to go to Ellwangen to help the elders with a straßenausstellung (a street booth for contacting..) but we got to the station and there had been an accident and our train was no longer running. I was so sad. But then we did some contacting of our own! Finally! It was a beautiful day, so we went tot eh market. There were so many people! We didn't get any new investigators, but we gave away some cards and a Book of Mormon. I can't wait to be able to understand more of the language so I can talk more! At any rate, it was fun, and I quite enjoyed it. Its great knowing that if i say something stupid, it doesn't matter, because I don't know anybody here..hah.

oh! Right! I totally forgot! My first day here, President Miles announced that the Alpine mission will soon be expanding to include a German speaking region in a northern part of...Italy! Neat huh? We are now a 5 country mission..

For all of you Bice's out there, a little something fun. The German word for "to bite" is "beisen"..which is pronounced like..Bice. Whenever I tell my name to members, especially the kids, they say "Oh! Wie 'Beisen'". Pah. Perfect.

Some fun German facts...

Riding the bus last Friday, there was a kid who walked in, sat down, and pulled out a book. I looked to see what it was. The cover said "Die Bibel". I was so excited! I leaned to my companion and whispered "That boy is reading the Bible! Lets talk to him!" And.....turns out it was actually..a math book. Their textbooks here are sometimes called Bibels? Hmph..

And last week we were eating at a members house. The mom is from America. I saw some water on the table, so I poured myself some. And drank a sip, and... Oh. My. Lands. It was AWFUL! I was honestly wondering to myself if I had accidentally poured myself a glass of cleaner instead. Then the mom asked "are you drinking carbonated water??" I, declaring my innocence, said "I have no idea!" And then she went off on...how proud she was. How most missionaries don't take to carbonated water until a year into their mission. How I was so ahead of my time. Little did she know, I am quite certain I will NEVER take to the stuff. Bleh.

And! Some cool things I learned this week..The German past participle for "to offer" in German is "geboten". The word for commandments is "gebote". While the words really have nothing to do which each other, i thought it was cool, because! Commandments are not rules that make us restricted or miserable, but rather, they "offer" us blessings. Whenever we keep a commandment, we are blessed. Kinda neat huh?

And from the scriptures..1 Cor 9:14 "Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel..." and 1 pet 5:3 "Neither as being Lords over God's heritage, but examples to the flock." One of the MOST important things we can do, as missionaries or as members, is live what we believe. As we do so, people will notice that there is something different about us. Something special. That something is the knowledge of the restored gospel. It is so critical so always do as Christ would do, and truly live what we believe. You never know who might be watching.

Anywho! I am once more out of time. Thanks again for all of your wonderful support and prayers! I love you all dearly. Have a lovely week!

Love,

Sister Bice