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| little baby linchen taking a nap. |
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| look! I finally took a picture of me and my companion! |
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| Me and my mum! It was so fun to see her again:) |
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| Me and sarah again. Sarah being sassy..again. |
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| Sister Lin, Julia, Andreas, Sister Bice :) |
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| Sister Schulze, Me, Sarah, Sister Lin :) |
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| Sleepover! So fun:) |
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| andreas and his fiancé, Julia |
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| Some of the members after the baptism.. |
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| Me and Sarah. She is so sassy. Haha. |
Liebe Familie und Freunde,
This last weekend, Göppingen had two baptisms. And today, it's raining in honor of the occasion.
"I like to look for rainbows whenever there is rain
and ponder on the beauty of an earth made clean again
I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain
I want to be the best I can to live with God again.
I know when I am baptized my wrongs are washed away
And I can be forgiven and improve myself each day.
I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain
I want to be the best I can to live with God again."
We sang this song at Sarah's baptism on Sunday, and I realized how
much I love it. The Primary songs are golden! They are so simple. And
simply beautiful. I especially like the second verse. Sometimes when we
talked about getting baptized we make it all too complicated. But! When
we are baptized, our wrongs are washed away. We are forgiven. A door is
opened and we take our first steps on the path of becoming a disciple of
Jesus Christ. We are given the chance to improve ourselves each day.
What an opportunity!! Anywho, what a wonderful sight it was to see
Andreas and Sarah all dressed in white! They are both beautiful children
of God, who are now one step closer to returning to live with Him
again. But of course, this is only the beginning! :) Both of the
baptisimal services were well supported by the branch, which was
wonderful. And! I played the piano, so I got a nice front row seat;)
There was such a special spirit present at each of the services. I think
seeing others make convenants with God makes us reflect on our own
covenants that we've made. Teaching both Andreas and Sarah has really
strengthened my testimony of the fact that we are not here to prepare
people. Rather, they are coming to us prepared. I feel like the Lord has
been busy the last couple of months here in Göppingen, and it's been
all Sister Lin and I could do just to keep up with Him! As missionaries,
we really are just tools in His hands. We are His servants. This is His
work. And what a marvelous work it is. :)
As for the rest of the Week? Sister Lin and I continue to struggle
to find new investigators in our area. It's not a particular strong
point for either of us. But! I am really trying to rely on the Lord and
the counsel of Ether bringing my weaknesses to Him so that together we
can work through them and make them strengths. I guess I'm a slow
learner but, He's patient with me.
Annnd of course Saturday night, I got to see Sister Schulze! She
and Sister Funk stayed the night at our place. It was so good to see her
again! We went on splits and did some contacting. It was so weird to be
walking around with Sister Schulze in Göppingen again! Anywho, we
talked to a man who made both of us think a little bit. He used to be
catholic, but said that life had dealed him some bad cards and he just
couldn't believe in God anymore. Really sad. But at the end he said
something interesting. He said he thought it was neat that there were
young girls like us who could believe. He said "Ihr mädchen
seid wirklich reich. Reich ins Herz." Oder, "You girls are really rich.
Rich in the heart." Hmm. I think we forget that sometimes. No matter
what our external circumstances might be, the gospel makes us rich.
We really do have a treasure. But do we cherish it as much as we should?
Or take it for granted? In the world it's so easy to notice the things
that we don't have, that sometimes we get caught up and forget to take
time to appreciate the things that we do have. The knowledge of
the gospel and the Plan of Happiness are priceless! We are rich!
Because when we truly live what we believe, our hearts are full.
Annd last but not least. Yesterday was fast and testimony meeting!
Yay! As I sat pondering during sacrament (..I didn't have to translate
for the first time in a couple of months..it was kind of nice..) I
thought back on a talk I read last week about becoming a disciple of
Christ. That is a topic that has really interested me on my mission, and
I've thought a lot about it actually means to be a disciple. I mean, I
always think of the word "disciple" and think of the Bible and all of
the Lord's disciples, and what wonderful examples they are. Then I think
"mensch! I don't think I can ever be like that!" But! I read once in
the Bible Dictionary that the word "disciple" means "pupil" or
"learner". I really like that, because that means we are not disciples
in that we are perfect, rather, in that we try to learn of Jesus. And we
can ALL do that. We aren't perfect, but that's not expected of us. What
is expected of us is that we give our best and don't give up. The path
of a disciple isn't easy. We make mistakes. We fall. And sometimes we
lay there on the ground and think "I'm done. I can't do this anymore.."
But we pick ourselves up, or rather, the Lord picks us up, and we go on.
"Fall seven times, get up 8!" I've been in the field 6 months now, and
what a 6 months they've been! I've learned a lot, cried a lot, grown a
lot, and I wouldn't take back any of it. I am just grateful that every
day is a new day with new opportunities to become something better as we
serve the Lord. In distrikt meeting last week Elder Chapman shared
something that I really liked. He said "Be the missionary you want to be
TODAY"..I feel like sometimes I see missionaries at the end of their
missions and think "wow. Now THERE is a great missionary. I hope someday
I'll be that kind of missionary too.." But! Who is stopping me from
being that kind of missionary today? Nobody but myself. Of course we
become better servants as we gather experience and learn and grow which
all comes with time, but we still have the opportunity EVERY day to be
the kind of missionary we want to be. To be the kind of father we want
to be. The kind of mother. The kind of friend. The kind of *insert here
whatever it is you want to be*. My parents always taught me that I can
do anything I set my mind to. I could be whatever I wanted to be. And so
it is. The Lord gives us each and every day so many opportunities to
learn and grow! It's up to us to use them well. So! My challenge to all
of you is to start TODAY to be the person you want to be. If you're not
sure what you want to be, get on your knees and ask your Father. He has a
vision for all of us. He'll help you out. :)
Ich habe euch alle sehr Lieb! Danke sehr for your prayers, love, and support. May you all have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Bice
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