..guten Rutsch!!‏

 Liebe Familie und Freunde,
 
 "For ye were sometimes in darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord.
 Walk as children of Light."--Ephesians 5:8.
 
 For those of you who can remember (..which is probably..nobody..hah) that was my last years "new years resolution/theme scripture". I remember reading that in the MTC this time last year and really being touched by it, because it touches on past, present, and future. Obviously none of us are perfect and we all have done things in the past that we probably might change if we could. All of us have been, at some time or other, "sometimes in darkness" but! What is important in this scripture is the NOW. But NOW are ye light in the Lord. One of the greatest lessons I have learned on my mission is that...it's ok to look back. But only long enough to learn what the Lord wants you to learn, and then you just have to move on. You have to WALK. Preferably forward. :) And of course, in the light. For that is exactly what we  are: Children of Light. My journal from December 31st last year reads "I'm excited for the New Year, and all the opportunities and experiences it will bring. I pray that the Lord will guide me in it, that I may bring His children to the Light." Those simple two lines are my continuing prayer. I can't believe I only have 6 months left out here! People back home are already starting to ask my mom "..isn't she coming home soon?" No way! I would appreciate it if ya'll would kindly stop trying to short me of the 6 months I have left! Because they are going to be the best 6 months of my mission. I hope I can apply all that I've learned in the year of 2012 to not only help me become a better missionary, but also to help me in the "after-mission-life". I still haven't quite decided on a scripture for 2013 yet, but I still love 2012's enough to hang on to until I do. :) I read a letter from a friend this morning, that pretty much summed up what I was feeling about 2012. "So many lessons learned; among the great ones, is learning that you have a lot more to learn!" I am SO amazed at all that I have experienced and learned this last year, but even more amazed at how much more I have to experience and learn! :)
 
 ANYwho...last week! was great! It was one of the longest and shortest weeks of my mission. Monday was...CHRISTMAS! Yay! We got our p-day errands out of the way, and then Bishop Lehmann (and fam) picked us up! We spent the whole day at their house experiencing a wonderful, authentic Austrian Christmas! Christmas is way different here. But it was so great! Thanks so much to the 'Lehmann's for adopting us!! And then Tuesday was, of course, CHRISTMAS!! Again! Which we spent doing "personal touches" and then spending some time with our Senior Couple, the Weidmans! It was great. And the highlight of it all? SEEING MY FAMILY! Gotta love skype! Annd Wednesday was...CHRISTMAS...again. Hah. Actually we didn't have anything planned so we went to work! (We weren't allowed to go dooring though..so we were trying to street contact..when one of our members drove passed us, took pity on us, and invited us to dinner. Hah.) Anywho. It was all good and great and wonderful. But! I will admit. I am excited to be back to real live missionary work! Hah. We had "finding day" in wels on Friday. Annd we didn't find anybody. But! I went on splits with the Bishops daughter, which was great! She is going to make a wonderful missionary. :) Naja! Other than that we are just trucking along here in Wels! Experiencing daily miracles and loving every minute of it. We don't have TOO much planned for the coming week...which means...lots of time to find! Feel free to keep us in your prayers. :) Umm! We are really short on time today. All the stores close early for the holiday and we are going to starve if we don't get some food. Which is ok because Sister Drury is putting me on a diet anyway. Hah, ok, we just made a goal to not eat sugar for a week. Normally I would never agree to something so absurd, but I have eaten more sugar in the last 2 weeks as I have in my entire LIFE and I am SO sick of it. Hah. We'll see if I make it a week. :P So! I will leave you all with a little thought from personal study. I read part of my favorite missionary talk today (The Fourth Missionary) and the author, paraphrasing C.S. Lewis, says "..the Lord says to us: 'Give me all. I don't want so much of your time, so much of your talents and money, and so much of your work: I want You. All of you. I have not come to torment or frustrate the natural man, bt to kill it. No half-measures will do. I don't want only to prune a branch here and another there. I want' the whole tree out. Hand it all over to me, the whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wants and wishes and dreams. Turn them all over to me, give yourself to me and I will make of you a new self in my image. Give me yourself and in exchange I will give you Myself. My will, shall become your will. My heart, shall become your heart.'" This is my ultimate goal for the new year. And for my life. To give myself over to the Lord. All of me. So that he can make me something new. Can give me himself. Can change my will, and change my heart, so at the last day "[I] may become [a daughter] of God; that when he shall appear [I] shall be like him, for [I] shall see him as he is; that [I] may have this hope; that [I] may be purified even as he is pure." (Moroni 7) I hope you all have a great start to a great new year! Of course it is important to make goals on all the other days of the year too, but New Years is just a clean slate that I hope we all take advantage of! I love you all! The Gospel is true! 

Guten Rutsch!!
 Love,
 Sister Bice