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we have been doing a lot of caroling on the streets of austria lately. It is loads of fun! Annnd also really cold..hah |
LIEBE Familie und Freunde,
Wow, I can hardly believe that Dezember is halfway over! And Christmas is so close I can smell it! But before I get too caught up in the coming events, lets talk a little about the past, shall we? :)
Mensch, this last week was so great! Ok let's be honest, every week in the life of Sister Bice is so great. I just love being a missionary. :) But! Last week we had...Zone Conference! Wow it was so good! Unfortunately..I left my notebook at home. Hah. But! I guess mostly it just made me think a lot. We talked a lot about Christ, and our relationship with Him. We read the account of Peter walking on water. That story never ceases to teach me. As I reflected on it this time around, I realized truly what the Lord is capable of. I love the quote, "The work of the Lord is done by ordinary people, who work in extraordinary ways." Christ could walk on water, but He was the Son of God. Peter however was an "ordinary" man, who Christ enabled to experience the extraordinary. Peter, so long as He kept His eyes focused on the Savior, was capable of miracles. In fact, he was LIVING a miracle as he walked across the storm tossed sea. And Peter was successful...until! He began to doubt! Peter had no doubt as he lept over the side of the boat to embark across the water to his Savior. The doubt snuck in after his journey had begun. And when it did, Peter began to sink and cried out "Lord, save me!" I thought about myself in Peter's shoes. I too had no doubts when I lept out of the plane in Munich last February! I was ready to hit the streets and convert Germany! There have however been times in the last year where I have perhaps lost sight of my Savior, and doubt has crept in, causing me to begin to sink. But! The beauty of the story? "And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him..." Yep. Time and again has that become a reality on my mission. Regardless of how many times I have been "of little faith" and begun to sink, all I have had to do is cry out "Lord, save me!" And IMMEDIATELY He's been at my side. I mean, we all know I am a terrible swimmer. But these last 12 months, the Lord has been teaching me not only to swim, but to have the faith to walk on water...
So! Besides zone conference Sister Drury and I have been busy delivering cookies to less active members and! We have even had a couple of appointments! Look at us go! We even got to meet with Laura this week! I just love Laura. :) I've missed her! Annd she also taught us how to make Austrian Christmas cookies! Gotta love family home evening! It was so great. Well, mostly great. I woke up that morning not feeling overly well, but kind of just wrote it off. Well there I was mixing cookie dough when all of the sudden...nausea. Hmm...long story short: The last time I got the stomach flu I was in the 8th grade. Since then, I have often asked myself if my body was even capable of throwing up anymore....mystery solved. Annd then Laura fed us dinner. Chili! I should have said no, but it smelled so delicious...and tasted even better! Anywho, after dinner we even got to talk to Laura's mom for a bit (who is WAY cool! And! Asked us a couple of questions about the church!) At any rate, her family has a great spirit about them. Wonderful people. And Laura is continuing to read in the Book of Mormon and develop her testimony. The gospel is wonderful. :)
......For those of you who were wondering about the delicious chili....it definitely tasted better going down than coming back up. (My apologies to those of you with weak stomachs..) Luckily it was just a little 24 hour flu and I am in tip top shape again! Just still haven't gotten my appetite back..
ANYWHO..At church this week I was in with the young women's class and we watched a little video that said "..Just brighten up the little corner where you are". I really loved that. Sometimes I get a little (hah, a little. Yeah. Right...) overwhelmed in this great work. Annnd in life in general. I mean if we think about it, there is just so much to do! And so many people to please! And never enough hours in the day! And, and, and! But! I am fully convinced that if each of us just focuses on the little corner in which we are found at any given moment, I am sure we can accomplish great good :)
Annnd in reading the Bible this morning I was just really impressed with Luke 2. (I think it was Lukas 2...) where Gabriel tells Mary she is going to have a Son, namely, the Son of God. The only question she asks is "How?" Which! Sounds a little like doubt, but it was the "perfectly ok" kind of doubt. She doubted her OWN ability, simply not understanding how that was physically possible. She didn't however doubt the Lord, who, as Gabriel explains, had already taken care of that part of the equation. I likened it unto myself. I will admit that sometimes I DO have doubts out here. But they are all concerning MY abilities. But! As Neal A. Maxwell once said, "The Lord doesn't ask about our ability our inability but only about our availability, and if we prove to Him our dependability, He will take care of our capability." Luckily, this work isn't about me! It isn't about what I can and can't do. It's about what I am WILLING to do. What I am willing to do for the Lord. The Lord has a work for me to do, and I know that as I do my part, namely, prove to Him my dependability, He WILL take care of my capability. He did it for Mary, and He can do it for me.
Hmm. I feel like this email is a little scatterbrained. Sooo I think I am going to call it quits in an attempt to salvage it before it gets any worse. Hah. I hope you are all lookig forward to Christmas Spirit it brings. :) We are looking forward to another great week here in Wels with some caroling, an exchange with Neumarkt, and of course all of the new people we are going to find that want to learn about the Gospel. :) As for you all, I hope you have a wonder-filled week! Take some time to read about Christ in the Gospels this week in preparation for CHRISTmas! I love you all and thank you once again for your love and support:) Frohe Weihnacht!
Love,
Sister Bice
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