Liebe Grüße!‏

Liebe Familie und Freunde,
Wow, what a week. I can't believe this transfer is nearly over. The time goes by so so fast!
This week, I found out why my companion and I had it off to a little bit of a rough start...she had never eaten a PB&J! I could hardly believe my ears when she told me that! Anywho, we remedied that. She said it was "interesting..."..oh well! more for me! Haha. The Germans really do eat so different though. It is interesting. But! My companion is great. I really have learned to love her. Sure, we have lots of differences, and maybe we don't even have that much in common. But one thing we do have in common? We are both here to serve the Lord.

So! Anywho! I had some super great experiences this last week. First off, we had our first lesson with Deborah. It went really well. She is really searching for the truth, ad she has so many questions. Luckily! We have all the answers. She was quite reluctant about our invitation to church Sunday (she's had some bad experiences with other churches in the past?) but, lo and behold Sunday morning came and there she was waiting for us at the bus stop. Best day ever! I don't know what she thought about it. Of course the sacrament talks were all about the millennium. Perfect. Hah. But! We had an "investigator class" with her, and I think most importantly she felt accepted. She is really something special. I pray she is able to see that she's found what she's been looking for. She's had a hard life. But! We have another appointment with her Tomorrow. I won't be there (we have an austausch..exchange..with the other sisters in our zone) but! I pray it goes well, and hopefully we can set another appointment for later this week.
We also had a neat lesson with our investigator Rodrigo this week. He really opened up to us. He explained that maybe he was satisfied with his life and with being Catholic.To be honest, I think he has begun to see what a life changing thing the gospel is, and it scares him a bit. I thought maybe he would drop us then an there. But, we talked with him a bit, then invited him to say a kneeling prayer and ask God if the church was true (he hadn't yet done that..) So! We all knelt (Me, sister Shulze, and our member Sister Fröhlich) and..waited. And waited. And waited. Finally I peeked to see what was happening, and turns out he was praying, just not out loud. Which was just as well because he always prays in Spanish and we can't understand him anyway. We knelt there in silence for about 5 minutes. I tell you what, I don't know if i have ever prayed for fervently in my whole life! I prayed that he would really be able to get an answer, and know the church was true. Sister Schulze was undoubtedly doing the same. And. It was so neat. In those 5 minutes, I could really feel the love that God has for his son, Rodrigo. These souls are truly precious. At any rate, we finished praying, and he said he'd never really felt like that before, and said he wants to keep meeting with us. So! Fingers crossed?
Quick German thought! The word for "regret" is "bedauern". The word "dauern" means to last, or endure. I find that interesting. My dear papa wrote me in the MTC that he'd once heard "You only have 18 months to serve your mission, and the rest of your life to think about it." How important it is to use our time well, so we can look back without regrets hmm?. I have found here that the only regrets I've had this far are the times where I HAVEN'T done something. I don't have any regrets about talking to people. It's the times I haven't opened my mouth that I regret. I heard a quote once.."Never regret. If it's good, it's wonderful. If it's bad, it's experience."
Also! On Saturday, we helped the Elders with an ausstellung in Aahlen. It was so great! Sister Schulze and I set a goal to place 5 BOM's in our 2 hours and...ta-da! It was truly a miracle. We had just half an hour left and 2 Bücher Mormon, so we stopped and said a prayer. Half an hour later? We had found 2 people. It was so great. We are making waffles today to celebrate;) Also! I talked to so many people! It felt great. I still am a little nervous to start up conversations with people because sometimes..i Have no idea what they are saying..but! Proverbs 3:5-6 is the best way to go. Every time.
Speaking of the ausstellug...I had a little bit of a heartbreak right there in the market Saturday. See, one of the most common things we hear when we walk up and start talking to people is "Nein danke, ich habe keine Zeit." (no thank you, I have no time.) In fact, sometimes people say it as they wave us off, BEFORE we even open our mouths! They don't even know what they don`'t have time for! And to be honest, it happens so often and it's become so rote, that I hadn't really thought about it either. I've always just taken it as they have no time to talk to me. But Saturday, it hit me..quite hard and all at once..that what they are saying (whether they know it or not..) is that they have no time for the Savior of the World. The one Being who is more invested in them than anyone or anything on this earth that they seem to think is so important. And...it broke my heart. I mean the thought that they have time for me has never really phased me. I'm not one to get all pouty and discouraged over something like that. But the thought that they have "no time" for Christ? The thought that Anyone could "not have time" for the Redeemer of their soul? It makes me so sad for them. I pray that I will always be able to keep my priorities straight, and that I will ALWAYS have time for my Savior...
Anywho, this week really taught me how absolutely futile this work would be without the spirit. Without the spirit, we'd be a bunch of kids wandering around, trying to talk to random strangers about religion. No one would take us seriously. But with the Spirit? With the Spirit, we are somehow (that is beyond me..) transformed into a mighty army of God, bearing testimony to His Children of their, our, Lord and Savior. The Spirit is so essential to this work. Without it, we can do nothing. But with it? We can do miracles.
Mmk! Time up! I love you all so much! I am looking forward to another great week here in Germany! Last week of the transfer! Last and best if I have anything to do with it! Remember to smile and always be grateful! ""Keep your face to the sunshine, and you cannot see the shadows." Amen!
Much love,
Sister Bice