Liebe Familie und Freunde

Liebe Familie und Freunde,
.....missionary privileges: revoked.
Worst. Day. Ever.
But really though. We went back into the city to clear my name on Tuesday, and they actually just ended up giving me even MORE problems. Annnd revoking my missionary privileges. And they made me take my nametag off. Rude. I was....less than happy. Actually I was rather upset. In fact, I got myself so worked up I almost cried. (Embarrassing, I know. I am still working on that part of me. Clearly, God is trying to teach me something. Annnnd it's working. After about 12 hours of being mildly unhappy about the whole deal, I decided....sometimes life throws you a curveball, but you gotta keep playing the game. The next day I read about Patience in PMG. "Patience is the capacity to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering withough becoming angry, frustrated, or anxious. It is the ability to do God's will and accept His timing..." Yep. A little slap in the face, but it was good for me. I read it and thought "..delay, trouble..opposition..hey! That's me!" Then I read further.."..without becoming angry, frustrated, or anxious.." and thought "uh..." Anywho. I have learned a lot over the course of my mission, but I am still working on me. So!  Instead of going around feeling sorry for myself, I decided to try to "do what Jesus would do.." that is..go about doing good! I mean I am relatively certain that Christ had no nametag, and didn't go around street contacting..He went about doing good! Simply serving others. Now THAT I can do. I also set a goal for sister Jencks and I to see..how many smiles we can get in a day. Stuttgart can keep us from contacting, but they can't keep us from Smiling!  So the two of us smiled at as many people as possible in hopes of getting a few in return and..wouldn't ya know it! We were pretty successful!

Naja. So among the madness...I DO have some good news....WIR SIND UMGEZOGEN!! Or rather, eingezogen. We checked out of our hotel for good on Friday. YAY! The apartment still has some work to be done on it, but it is great to have a home. In fact, that is mostly all we did last week. Go to eating appointments, get to know the members, and work on the apartment. We painted, we cleaned, we assembled, and ta-da! By we, of course I mean mostly the Elders, but we did everything we could! Meaning..everything they would let us. Hah. One of them saw me with a power tool and almost died. Clearly they don't know who my papa is. :) It was super great to wake up in an apartment on Saturday. Adventures of the morning included showering without a shower curtain, drinking tea out of a bowl, studying on the floor in the corner..hah. LIfe. Isn't it about improvisation? :)

Annnd of course, General Conference. So. Good. Every time. I remember being a kid, sometimes dreading what I thought to be an eternity of sitting still. Nowadays, I look at the clock and 2 hours is already gone! Sad! Before going to conference I read in my journal about LAST general conference..

"I would say that the overall "theme" I got out of conference was..love. Which is interesting, because I am not sure if that really was a theme, but almost all of the talks seemed to hit that chord in me. Honestly, if there is one thing..well, let me rephrase. If I had to choose just one thing I have really learned on my mission, it's love. Mostly, how to love other people. Which I am still working at. And also the love manifested through the Atonement. I mean, this life is all about coming more like Jesus Christ. We do that as we undergo a mighty change of heart. The number 1 emotion associated with the heart is love. And I am becoming more and more convinced that we have that change of heart as we learn to love. I  mean REALLY learn to love. To love with the love that Christ has for each one of us. So, moral of the story: I am still trying to figure myself out. Hah. I just..have so much inside of me. I have just got to figure out how to get it form my heart and my head and my soul, to my hands and my feet and my mouth..."

Annnnd I am STILL working on that. But I have come a long ways. I really loved Elder Andersens comment about "if you don't have a nametag, paint one on your heart!" I thought.."Hey! That's me!" And it made me think about my mission. I mean, my mission experience has obviously been something I have done, but even more so it has been something I have become. "I AM a disciple of Jesus Christ. I have been called of Him to declare His word among His people, that they might have everlasting life.." So much more important than what we do is who we are. I loved Sister Daltons thoughts on how we must "understand WHO we are and WHOSE we are." We, all of us, are Children of God. Our Father, who loves us, and is rooting for us! He has a plan for us, and wants us to reach our full potential. And although "none of us should ever underestimate how driven Satan is to succeed.." (L. Tom Perry) we need not forget that "Satan is no match for the Savior." (Elder Scott.) I guess more than anything Conference was just the little spiritual boost I needed to remind me who I am and why I'm here. I am so grateful to be serving the Lord at this time of my life. It truly is a blessing. And although my time is waning, I am so grateful for all that I am becoming out here, and I hope to be able to take my new self into my old world and continue to BE what the Savior would have me be. A disciple of Christ.

Ok I am out of time! I love you all and wish you all a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Bice