So! Sister Drury and I had..an interesting week this week. It was actually a great week, even though..we didn't have a single lesson. Well, that isn't entirely true. We didn't have a single lesson with an investigator. We did however have 2 member lessons (where we go to members homes and teach them the lessons while they pretend to be investigators) which were both AWESOME! It felt so good to teach again! (And it should be noted that Sister Drury and I were blessed with the ability to down an entire KILO of spaghetti at one of their houses. As in, a kilo each. I have never been so ill in my life. It hurt to breathe afterwards. But! We both managed to keep it down..at least it tasted good. Count your blessings eh? Hah.) A couple of weeks ago we talked with the Zone Leaders to try and figure out what we can do for our little vineyard, and they counseled us to try and work more with the ward, so that is what we are doing. We are at the moment without a Ward Mission Leader but we had a great meeting with our Bishop last week where we did some brainstorming and whatnot. He encouraged us to use our "downtime" to get to know the members more, so we are working on it. We also have a meeting this week with a member and our mayor (fancy huh?) to talk about some service opportunities. Other than that, the week was filled with finding. Like Thursday for example. We were out and about finding for 7 straight hours..which! Was actually great. We didn't find any solid potentials, but it was a great testimony to me that this really is the Lord's work. I mean, Missionary work is missionary work, whether it be finding, teaching, etc. We all know before teaching comes the finding. So! Sister Drury and I are just trying out new ideas and are in for another week of hitting the streets! I am really grateful for Sister Drury and the ability we have to keep smiles on our faces (..it's not necessarily the norm to be able to come home from 7 hours of dooring and STILL have smiles on your faces...) and finding joy and miracles in every day, regardless of how our "success" looks on paper. We are giving our best, and the rest is just trusting in the Lord that, in his time, some of our seeds will begin to sprout.
As for little old me, I am doing great. I really am so happy. I love this work. It scares me a little that I only have 5 months left to accomplish all the things that the Lord wants me to accomplish but, I also know that "in His strength, I can do all things.."
Sooo yeah. I could attempt to entertain you all with details of "finding" last week but...instead I think I will just share some things that I learned and then let you off the hook. ;)
I have been reading the Bible in german the last month, and thoroughly enjoying it. I am currently in Acts and I found a verse last week that I really liked. Actus 14:22 "Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." I like that last part there. "Durch viele Drangsale müssen wir in das Reich Gottes gelangen." It reminded me of a Sacrament talk I heard a couple of weeks ago. It was about a butterfly. I really like butterflies.:) It was a story about a man who say a cocoon with a butterfly, struggling to get out of a teeny-tiny hole. He felt bad for the butterfly, so he went into the kitchen, got a knife, and made a little slit in the cocoon, enabling the butterfly to ease its way out. Excited he watched his new little friend emerge with ease, but was then puzzled as it tried to fly away and couldn't due to a defect in it's wings. The man was very troubled by the occurrence and asked a friend who was in the science field about the poor crippled butterfly. The friend asked "well, what did you do to it?" The man replied that he had simply helped it out by making a slit it it's cocoon. The friend then explained that that was the worst possible thing he could have done, because it is in the last step of fighting through that tiny hole that a butterfly fully develops it's wings. I really loved this little analogy, because sometimes, I feel like the little butterfly. Sometimes I feel like I am struggling and struggling to get through a little hole that is CLEARLY too small for me. Or so I think. Sometimes I get frustrated and throw my hands up and think "Ok seriously though? I am trying my best. Can't God just step in and help me out a bit??" But! It is THROUGH much tribulation that we become fit to enter the Kingdom of God. We can't become the disciples the Lord needs us to become-we can't fulfill our full potential-without passing through the small and uncomfortable hole called "much tribulation". (..on a side note...for New Years we did a little Austrian tradition called "bleigießen". You have some lead and melt it on a spoon, then tip it into a bowl of cold water. The lead makes a "figure" which predicts what you have coming in the new year. Well! My lead turned into a butterfly. Which, according to the little paper meant "i would make many new friends" in the year..but after hearing that talk...I wonder if it didn't mean I was going to have a lot of trials...hmm...hah. Naja. Come what may! And love it!) So! Moral of the story? In those moments when you become discouraged and waver at the thought of passing through what seems to be the impossible, just try to keep an eternal perspective and trust in the Lord until you recognize that it is only for OUR good that He lets us fight things out a little bit, because it sets us on the path to the Kingdom of God, and enables us the wings to fly...
Alright! I am, once again, out of time! But, once again, I thank you all for your love, support, and prayers! I can't imagine this mission experience without the army of support I have back home. Annnd once again, don't forget to SMILE! I was reading today in personal study about "happiness". "Your happiness can be contagious! As other observe you, they may desire to know the source of your joy. Then they can also experience the happiness that comes through living the gospel of Jesus Christ."-TTTF pg. 80. THEY TOO can experience the joy! Who knew that missionary work could be so easy as simple being HAPPY?! Every member a missionary is indeed not only possible but easy when we just remember to express the joy we find through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I love you all and wish you a lovely week!
Love,
Sister Bice
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