There is SUNSHINE in my soul today...‏

Liebe Familie, Liebe Freunde,
Sooo remember how last week was....the weirdest week of my mission? Well it was. I feel like the little world I have known for the last 15 months has been a little bit shaken. Aber was soll das?
Well let's start with last Monday because Monday was SO GOOD! So! Are you ready? I got....A VISIT! From Sister Sabine Hausmann from Göppingen! She heard that I was in Stuttgart, and gave me a call, and CAME TO VISIT! We met her at a giant zoo\garden thing called the Wilhelma. Which! Was great..but! It was so good to see HER! When she turned the corner, I just got so excited! She looks so good! And she came bearing greetings from my little Göppingen Branch. So fun. Anywho, it was SO good to catch up on the last 7 months! She told me about how she went to the TEMPLE and was baptized for some of her ancestors! So neat! Ah. She was just so happy. I was so happy. "How great shall be your joy...". Yes, my joy was full. More than full. What a beautiful thing the gospel is.
So! After Monday, our week got a little crazy again...well! First off, we are still living in the hotel. Which is STILL really weird. I just can't get over it. But! The good news is! We get to move into the apartment this week! First they told us today..then said Wednesday..now we are looking at Friday..but! We will be in there by the end of the week. Woo! But! The city of Stuttgart decided to complicate our lives a little bit..probably just to push my buttons...naja. We went to anmeld (register) sister Jencks last Tuesday and get her visa process started. In they end they ended up making her take her nametag off. She isn't allowed to prostelyte until she gets her Aufenthaltstitel. (Kind of like a visa..). WHAT?? So. Lame. I mean here we are, no investigators, and we can't go contacting. Ugh. We can however still visit less active members, and we STILL have an eating appointment. Every. Single. Day. Which! Has been an awesome opportunity to get to know the members! But I don't know how much more I can eat..hah. *sigh* I am STILL trying to figure out what the Lord has in mind for us here. I mean it was so secret to Him that we would have all of these crazy problems...I am just trying to figure out how we can best effectively use our time in the meantime. We get to go back to the city hall tomorrow to try to take care of things. They actually gave me a really hard time to and almost made me give up my nametag, but thankfully we have a German elder in our district who got that taken care of for me. I just have to prove to them I was here in Germany in the last 6 months. Good thing I like to keep train tickets as souvenirs...
ANYWHO! I am doin' great. The subways here have all these wise little quotes in them. I read one last week that I really really liked. I don't remember how it went exactly but..something along the lines of "..not everything in this beautiful world is beautiful.." then about how sometimes in life, it rains. But! Instead of griping about the fact that it is raining ON us, we should be grateful that most of the rain is, in fact, falling AROUND us. (And hence..not on us..). Yes, bad things happen to us..but a lot of other bad things happen NOT to us. So! While little Sister Jencks and I have been getting rained on a little bit the last weeks, we still have PLENTY to be grateful for. Count your many blessings eh? :) I heard another good quote from..somewhere..a member I think.."Ich freue mich wenn es regnet! Weil wenn ich mich night freue, dann regnet es trotzdem." So something like.."I love it when it rains. Because even if I don't love it..it rains anyway." I like that too. Life is what you make it!
Mesch! I guess I just don't have a whole lot more to share! Sister Jencks and I have been doing what we can to keep ourselves busy! We have also been over to our apartment a couple times to help paint and just move the process along. I am really excited to move in and finally unpack my suitcases! The members here are absolutely fantastic, and I am really excited for conference this weekend! But! Before this email gets as long as last weeks...I will just leave you with..another..quote. From study this morning. Hah. You ready?
Faith is the power.
Obedience is the price.
The Spirit is the key.
Love is the motive.
And Christ is the reason.
Sooo good.Pretty self explanatory but...
Faith is the power. Faith is the first principle of the gospel. With faith, we can move mountains! Without faith, we won't accomplish much. Faith is power.
Obedience is the price. And if you ask me, also power. Obedience IS the first law of Heaven. And although we are always blessed for our obedience, sometimes we do see it as a sacrifice. But it all comes down to trusting the Lord. Trusting that as we keep our end of the deal, He will keep His.
The spirit is the key. The Spirit really is the key to EVERYTHING we do as missionaries. We can stand outside all day and try to talk to people, but without the Spirit to unlock peoples hearts, they wouldn't unlock their doors either...the Spirit is the key to success.
Love is the motive. I once heard that EVERYTHING we do is motivated either by love or fear. I am inclined to agree. Love is the BEST motive there is..to anything really. When we act out of commitment or duty, we get the job done, but hearts usually remain unchanged. When we act out of love, as the Savior would, then not only are others more greatly blessed but we as well.
Christ is the reason. "What can I say more?" I suppose I don't know why all the other missionaries in the world are on missions, but I do know why Sister Natasha Jan'L Bice is on a mission. Because! I love my Savior. Because I know He loves me. Because I know that He loves not only me, but ALL of His children, and He wants me to help others come to enjoy the same blessings that I enjoy through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ...
Naja. The last weeks HAVE been a little crazy. But! I am happy. So very much so. I am so grateful to be here on a mission. Sister Jencks reminds me every day that I am going home soon. But! I ain't dead yet! And I am determined to "die with my boots on!" Apartment or no apartment, visa or no visa, look out Stuttgart, cause here we come.
I Love you all! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and were able to take a few moments to remember WHY we celebrate it. Moroni 7:41. :)
Schöne Woche und bis später!
Love, Sister Bice