" ... Which is the greatest of all ..."

Greetings!

I had this weird realization yesterday.

The beautiful view outside the home where we had an eating appointment.

We had an eating appointment at this member's house - they live outside of Wien, so they drove us to their home in their car. On the way back to the city, I felt so sick. I realized that it was because I haven't ridden in the back of a car for like, 3 months.  I guess I have officially been on my mission for a long time - I can`t even ride in a car without feeling sick to my stomach! But, at the same time, I still stumble half the time when the U-Bahn lurches into motion...so I`m not quite there yet.

Anyway. Something Präsident Kohler has advised us to do is to try and fill our days with teaching. People who aren`t members of the church, less-active members, members, etc. Teach, teach, teach, when we can. As we practice teaching these lessons and discussions to those who are or aren`t LDS, we become better teachers, and we can try to strengthen the people we teach. It`s also a lot of fun to teach members - they can add so much to the lesson, and it`s a great way to get to know them. I`m at the point now where I feel I can adequately (although, slowly) express myself in German - it`s not as eloquent as I would like it to be, but I can generally say what I want to say. That being said, that isn`t always the case...there was a lesson we had with a member this week when, despite all my efforts, my words were just jumbling in who-knows-what way. I looked up and could tell from the looks on their faces that they had absolutely no idea what point I was trying to make! Haha! I took a deep breath and tried again, and it made more sense. Thank Heavens. Either way, I am so grateful for Sister Freimann - she helps fill in the holes of my language when I don`t totally make sense. :) People are just too polite here - they tell me that my German is good - even when it isn`t. 

This week, when we didn`t have appointments, we started to try and go vorbei on some of the less-active members of the ward. On the ward list there`s quite a few people who are so inactive, not even the Bischof knows who they are. We met with a member of the FHV (Relief Society) presidency this week, and she gave us some people to go check up on too. It`s been so fun! We`ve met a lot of really cool people that we`ll try to help in which-ever way that we can.

 

 

Friday was also the weirdest day, because we went to Wiener Neustadt! There were some people we specifically needed to visit there, so we got permission from Präsident to leave our area, and bought tickets. It felt weird to walk down the cute Necco-Wafer colored building-lined streets again. It was really great because we got to visit some people, and also the new Elders in Neustadt got to meet some of the people we had been working with together. (Us Sisters were replaced by 2 additional Elders in Neustadt, so they picked up where we left off...so they came along with us that morning.)

BUT. Crazy thing. We literally ate SO MUCH FOOD. 

Sister Freimann and I eating our free OBB croissants.

We had an appointment at 1, so we got on the train to Neustadt at about 1030, after companionship study. They sell refreshments on the train, so someone came down the aisle and asked if we wanted croissants. We said no, because we didn't have much money on us. We saw the girl just handing them to other people, and we realized they were free! What the heck? We had ridden that train who knows how many times, and that has never happened before! We quickly waved the girl back down and partook in the most wondrous, buttery croissants that have ever happened.

We then made it to Neustadt, where the 2nd pair of Elders met us, and we went to work! We had tracked down a few people for an hour or two when we all started feeling kind of hungry. We found lunch at a grocery store. Sister Freimann and I then left for our appointment, where we were fed popcorn (my absolute favorite snack, ever) and the most rich, delicious, filling cocoa you can imagine. 

We were pretty stuffed. We were then walking down the road, headed back to Bahnhof when a car driving down the road honked at us - it was a member from Neustadt driving the other Elders. What the heck? They hopped out and said they were on the way to this regular eating appointment we used to have in Neustadt. We thought we might as well stop by to say hello, so we walked with them to the apartment. They were kind enough to ask us to stay for lunch! We ate the most delicious chicken lunch-ever. But holy cow, I was stuffed. I never thought I would eat again. I have heard tell in the past of missionaries who said they developed a skill on their missions to just eat and eat and eat...I believe it.

 

I had a really cool personal study, studying charity this week. Moroni 7:45-48 (in the Book of Mormon) probably gives the best example of it:

 

45  And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

 

46  Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if you have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail --

 

47  But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever, and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

 

48  Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

 

I think it’s incredible that it says that we must cleave unto charity, because it is the greatest of all. If anything, charity is the quality directly opposite of the natural man, who is selfish and inward-turning. To be charitable is to try and love like Christ loved, so we have to “pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that (we) may be filled with this love.”

 

I just like that. Have a wonderful week.

 

Sister Bushman

 

A few more photos!

 

Sister Freimann and I purchased a pair of companion socks this week.  Pandas!

 



Playing ultimate Frisbee with the elders in a park last P-Day.
L-R:  Elder Pugmire, Elder Brady, (two Elders' names to come!)
Sister Bushman, Sister Freimann.

 

On your mission you learn new skills.
French braiding my hair by myself for the first time!

 

A "Blast from the Past" photo:  eating at a member's home before
Sister Smiley  and Elder Pingle left Wien. L-R: Elder Pugmire,
Sister Smiley, Sister Freimann, Sister Bushman, Elder Pingel.

 

Wundertag...& 3 Months auf Misison?!

Liebe Familie und Freundin,

We bought these in honor of Sister Smiley, since she's no longer with us.

This was my first full week flying solo (well, with only one companion, at least) out in the field. I am starting to get more into the rhythm of working in a normal companionship. We both miss Sister Smiley, but we both get along really well too, so alles wohl. Also, I HIT MY 3 MONTH MARK ON MY MISSION THIS WEEK. My mission is 1/6 over. Uh, what? I literally feel like I was on that plane ride to Manchester yesterday. And now I'm in Vienna. What?

A sneak peek of Sister Freimann during personal study.

Anyway, It's actually super unique that I have a European companion, even though I am in a European mission! It's all because of Switzerland. A couple years ago, Switzerland changed it's labor laws, making it super difficult for anyone who isn't Swiss (or at least European) to work in Switzerland. We aren't paid as missionaries but to their definition it is still 'work', so only Europeans and Americans with a Swiss Passport can serve in Switzerland. There are 3 whole Zones in Switzerland, so most Europeans spend the bulk of their missions there. It's crazy that Sister Freimann hasn't been in Switzerland at all. It's almost like serving within 'mini America' within the missionaries, half of us will be at BYU after we're done here!

 

Speaking of America, when we talk to people on the street I've noticed that people can't generally tell that I'm American. I talked to this one Serbian guy at a Bus stop this week who said he could tell that English was my first language, but not that I was American. Isn't that cool? I just think that type of thing is super interesting. 

Remember how I talked last week about how what we do is according to our faith? I totally saw evidence of that this week!! We had had a lot of fallen out appointments and things of the like and Sister Freimann and I were a smidgen frustrated. I remember praying super fervently one night that I would have adequate enough faith to see miracles around me - even if just little miracles - so I could remember why I was here and keep working. We had literally the best day I think we've had in the past 2 transfers that next day! We've referred to it as 'Wundertag' (miracle day) ever since then. We had this incredible lesson with this guy who referred himself to the church because he met some Mormons when he was in America over the summer and was interested, had Sprachstudium (language study) out in a park on a beautiful day where we ended up having some conversations with people who just came up to us, found two new people who are interested to meet and talk about the gospel, a couple new appointments made out with people we didn't know we found in the phone, and a delicious dinner/'practice discussion' with a really awesome lady from our ward. The whole day Sister Freimann and I kept turning to one another, saying ''This is the best day, ever!'' Wundertag will go down in history.



On the way through the cutest little neighborhood
in the world to our eating appointment on Sunday.

Butttttt. There's a bit of a funny story attached to one of the people we called in our phone to make an appointment with. We didn't know who she was but she looked potentially interested, so we rang her up and she was more than happy to meet with us. We looked up her address that she gave...and it's not in our ward boundary! It was in the Wien 2 boundary, which is the ward where the Zone Leaders are. We texted them to ask if they had a record for someone by this name...since all we knew about her was her first name and address. A short texting-conversation later, we realized that they have been meeting with her about the church for a while...oops. We deleted her number out of our phone so other well-meaning Sisters in the future don't accidentally make appointments, too!

By the way, I knew Grandfather was famous but holy cow everyone knows him. At least 3 or 4 people this week asked me if I was related to the Bushman-author. They are always super impressed when I say that he's my grandfather! You wouldn't have thought that so many Austrians would have read his stuff, but what do you know!

I wanted to talk about the Spirit this week - I actually studied this verse a few weeks ago, but I still want to share it. In Alma 17 (in the Book of Mormon) the Sons of Mosiah have been going around trying to preach of Christ, but had suffered everything you could think of. Hunger, thirst, fatigue of body and of Spirit. I love what the Lord did to help them: 

 10 And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted. And they were comforted. (Alma 17:10.)

No bells, no whistles. The Holy Spirit came to their hearts and whispered enough comfort to keep them going. It reminds me of Elijah when in 1 Kings 19 it says that "the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake, And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice."


When Heavenly Father wants to get our attention, it isn’t with fire or tumbles or crazy rock slides. It’s by those subtle thoughts and impressions that He guides us every day! I know that when we pray for an open heart to understand those promptings, we’ll feel His presence more in our lives.

Have a FAN-tastick week!

 

Sister Bushman

P.S.  A funny story to end.  So this week, the St. Pölten branch (congregation) had an 'Ausstellung', where they had a stand in the main square with information about the church and stuff. They wanted us to come, so we planned on being there at 10. We caught the 9:30 train, but it was BEYOND crowded. There were so many people there, we had to sit on the floor between cars with about 10 other people. The train was also super late, it didn't end up leaving until after 10! (I've never been on a train in Austria that was later than 5 minutes.) By the time we got going, the train was going pretty fast to try and catch up on schedule... and we ended up going 235 km at one point...that's the same as 145.7 miles an hour!

One more photo!  Had to take a picture by this truck!

 

According to Your Faith

The reflection in the glass hides
the fact that Sister Smiley is on
that train to Augsburg, Germany.

The first whole week of the new transfer starts today! Last week on Thursday was transfer day. Many of the missionaries in Wien came to the train station to see Elder Kingrey, Elder Pingel, and Sister Smiley off at the train station. I didn't think I would, but ended up fighting tears the entire time. Transfer day stinks! I think all the other missionaries at the station were pitying this poor little Golden experiencing the heartbreak of saying good-bye to missionaries in the field for the first time. BUT - fun thing - we got to 'run' the missionaries 'off' at the train station. Basically, the missionaries that are staying walk (and then run) alongside the train as it leaves until we can't keep up anymore. It was sad waving Sister Smiley away, but I know she is going to do incredible things in Augsburg. Also, between her and red-headed Elder Pingel and brown-haired Elder Kingrey on a compartment train they were just like Harry Potter...so there's that.

  

At the train station saying goodbye to Sister Smiley

At a special women's meeting broadcast in Europe.  L to R: Sister Parker, Sister Threlkeld,
Sister Freimann, Sister Bushman, Sister Smith, Sister Smiley, and Sister Tew

What sister missionaries do...walk!  With Sister Freimann and Sister Smiley

Since then, Sister Freimann and I are learning how to be normal missionaries again...without a second companion and without a second area. It's really nice to be able to focus on a single ward. Elder Pugmire who is in Wien 1 is training this transfer, so we've acquired Elder Brady, fresh from the MTC. There's two Goldens in one ward! (I'll lose this status after next transfer.)  

I've been studying a lot about faith this week. I'm currently at Alma in the Book of Mormon. I noticed a certain trend, and then started looking through the rest of the scriptures, and found it throughout!

And then, behold, according to your desires, yea, even according to your faith shall it be done unto you. (D&C 11:17)

Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. (Matt. 9:29)

And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart. Behold I say unto you that this is all true. (Alma 5:12)

Gather together whatsoever force ye can upon your march hither, and we will go speedily against those dissenters, in the strength of our God according to the faith which is in us. (Alma 61:17)




‘According to our/their/his/her faith’ is all over the scriptures. And it got me thinking. When we pray, we ask God for blessings, and things that we need. But we legitimately have to have faith in order for anything to happen.  It reminds me of when Dad could give money to charity at his work, and they would match his donation. God can do all things, but when we ask for specific things, He is only going to ‘match’ us with those blessings according to the faith that we have. That being said, God knows us perfectly. And he knows when things are hard. And he knows when we are trying our best.

At the home of Franz Schubert

I’m grateful to be out in this beautiful land where the musical greats lived, doners are plentiful, and it’s not weird for adults to ride scooters around the streets.  I’m grateful that I have the opportunity to be out here with my European brothers and sisters, telling them about the greatest thing that has ever happened.

Have a good week!

Sister Bushman

(Oh, P.S. – we checked out Belvedere Palace last P-day…they just don’t make ‘em that way in America!)

Belvedere Palace complex was built as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy.

Can you tell I feel at home on the grounds of a palace!



A Belvedere selfie!

The Baroque Palace was completed in 1723.

Not bad for a summer home!

Sister Smiley and I touching our last building together!

By a beautiful fountain

Another Belvedere fountain

The gardens are gorgeous!



Saying goodbye to Sister Smiley at Belvedere

Bis später, Wiener Neustadt

(Above translation:  "See you later")

So, transfer calls happened.

 

Moral of the story before I tell the story: do not try to predict transfer calls. 



Half of the Distrikt is leaving for other assignments. Back: Elder &
Sister Parker, Elder Anderson, Sister Freimann, Elder Pingel
Front:  Elder Eldredge, Elder Pugmire, Sister Bushman, Sister Smiley

That being said, what is happening for me specifically was pretty predictable, but we still had a pretty crazy morning. We didn`t `Frühsport` very well Saturday morning because we were waiting for somebody to call. The general history is that if the Zone Leaders call, everything is staying the same. If the Assistants to the Präsident call, somebody is being transferred. If Präsident himself calls, then you are getting a calling - like training a Golden or becoming a Zone Leader/Sister Training Leader. We got a call from the Zone Leaders Saturday morning. I had just gotten into the shower, but got out just in time for the call. We had expected for Sister Freimann and me to stay in Wien and Sister Smiley to train in Neustadt. Elder Abbott on the phone said that Sister Freimann and I will be staying in Wien full-time, but Sister Smiley was being transferred to Augsburg (München Zone) and Wiener Neustadt was closing. We were shocked. Elder Abbott said if we had questions to call Präsident. We had finally gotten things going really well in a good direction in Neustadt, and we so so so did not want it to close. We called Präsident and he said that that was a miscommunication, Neustadt was just being white-washed (two new missionaries starting simultaneously in a new area) by Elders. In the transfer this week, 25 Elders and only 5 Sisters are coming in...so they had to figure out where to put all of them. Things have been pretty crazy in the days since that call. We have to clean and prepare the Wiener Neustadt apartment for Elders (I hope they like flower comforters?), Sister Smiley has to prepare and pack to go all the way back to Germany, and we have to say good-bye to people in the Ward. It was so sad! I hope Neustadt gets Sister Missionaries again soon.

Wiener Neustadt at night



The "dritt" in shadows ... soon to fade to just two companions.

 

Finally legal!

We all laughed a little when Sister Smiley got her transfer call, because our Visas literally came in this week. But hey! Now we`re legal in the country. So that's nice.

Before my mission, I made 4 goals I wanted to accomplish in its duration. Some are pretty serious and others not so much, so here they are, in order of importance...

 

1. Invite others to come unto Christ.

2. Personally grow closer to Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ.

3. Take a Sound of Music-esque `Hills are alive` photo twirling in the actual Alps.

4. Buy a dirndl.

After 6 weeks together in Wein and Wiener Neustadt,
Sister Bushman must say good-bye to Sister Smiley

Guess who accomplished #4! Dirndls can be really expensive, but if you scout around some second-hand shops, you can find them for a fraction of the price. I found this dark blue (my favorite color) dirndl my very first P-day, and found a blouse to go with it this past week. I still don't have an apron, so I borrowed Sister Freimann's so we could all wear Trachten (a traditional national costume in German-speaking countries) to church our last Sunday in Wiener Neustadt. The apron is a few inches too short, so I'll have to keep looking, but I seriously wish I could wear my dirndl like, every day. Trachten is SO FUN. (I should be on the look out for lederhosen, eh?) :)

 

 

Sister Freimann with Sister Bushman and
Sister Smiley in their new dirndls.

 

In my new dirndl (although the apron isn't mine)
in front of the big statue in the main square of Weiner Neustadt.



Walking to our GMK's (ward mission leader's) house

The other day we had a little bit of extra time before a meeting started at the church in Neustadt, so we were on the computer learning a little more about the church resources. I was on Family Search, just looking through my genealogical lines. Oh my gosh. If you have never been to Family Search before, it's the Family History engine run by the church. (Although anyone can use it. And it's free!) It was so fun! Some of my lines traced back all the way to times as early as 300 AD. I found Nordic, German, French, and Italian kings and rulers. There was even a guy named Gandalf! I just wish I could browse for hours and hours. If you haven't spent any time before looking for your lines, do it!

We saw a really cool miracle this week. We had an appointment fall out last minute, and were none entirely sure what to do with our time instead. Sister Freimann felt like we should stop by this one particular less-active. We walked toward her house, and I noticed this man accross the street in his yard when we walked. We said hallo, and he did as well. As we continued to walk to the lady's house, I felt really strongly that we should go talk to the man. The other Sisters agreed. The lady wasn't home, so we walked over to him in his yard, where Sister Smiley struck up a conversation with him. He was super friendly and said he has had some trouble believing in God recently because he has been really sick - he doesn't know if God is keeping him alive, or if it's just the doctors. We talked to him for a while and ended up giving him a Book of Mormon, which he took and said he would read. We'll be telling the Elders to stop by when they get to the area. It was a really cool experience, because all 3 of us came together to speak with him - if Sister Freimann hadn't said we should go to this area, or if I hadn't said we should speak to him, or if Sister Smiley hadn't initiated conversation - the experience woudln't have happened.

I was reading this morning in Alma (in the Book of Mormon), and found some scriptures that I really, really love. Ammon, Aaron, and others had been preaching among the Lamanites, and had brought the gospel to tons and tons of people. Ammon goes on and on about how happy he is that so many people were brought to repentance, and brought to the knowledge of Christ. Alma 26:10-12 then states: 

 

 

10 And it came to pass that when Ammon had said these words, his brother Aaron rebuked him, saying: Ammon, I fear that thy joy doth carry thee away unto boasting.

 11 But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God.

 12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

 

How cool is that? I have already seen so many miracles and felt just a slice of this similar joy, and I am no way anything close to the type of missionary that Ammon was. I hope I can try and follow his example, and more importantly, Christ's example, every day!

 

Have a wonderful week! Tschüß!

 

Sister Bushman

 

Just a Little Rain

It's a beautifully grey and rainy day in Wien. A lot of the week has been like that - we are all convinced that Wien is incredibly confused about what season it is. It will be pouring cats and dogs all morning, and we'll sweat in the afternoon. I quite like cold weather, so I don't mind that I've already been wearing sweaters regularly!

 

One of the last photos of the "dritt"?  Sister Bushman,
Freimann and Smiley enjoying a cool drink from the McCafe.

Transfer calls are this week! It feels insane. Today is my one-month mark of full days in the field. (what?) So Saturday morning, we will get a phone call from either the Zone Leaders, Assistants to the President, or from Präsident Kohler himself, and they will give us our fate for what next transfer will bring for us. We have been speculating about this all transfer. What makes the most sense (we think) is that Sister Freimann and I will stay in Wien 1 and Sister Smiley will either train or just get a new companion in Wiener Neustadt, but nobody really knows. It will be interesting to see how it all unfolds. No matter what, I am so sad because there is a 90% chance that the dritt is splitting up. Being in a dritt definitely makes things a smidgen trickier, but I just love Sister Freimann and Sister Smiley so much, it will be hard to not be with either one of them 24/7. Now, we just have so many shared experiences and inside jokes...for example, something Sister Smiley and I love to do is touch everything.

With Sister Smiley touching the neo-Baroque statue of
Archduke Albrecht in front of the Albertina Museum

We have this joke how we want to touch all of Vienna. For example, we touched Schönbrunn. We touched Stephansdom and Peterskirche. Last P-Day we got to touch a lot of stuff, because we went down to the tourist-y part of Wien with Sister Smith and Sister Threlkeld! We had tausch (exchanges) with them on Tuesday (more on that in a second) so beforehand we had a lot of fun together in Wien. We went downtown and saw Parliament, the library in the Wien Rathaus that seriously looks like a storybook or Harry Potter, The Operhaus where Mozart had tons of performances, the Albertina, the whole deal. We took a little break to have cake at this cute cafe, and I tried my first Sachertorte. (It's this really good Austrian chocolate cake witha  little layer of apricot jam in the middle...it sounds super weird, but I'm thoroughly converted to the Marille/Schokolade flavor combo now.) When we came out we found half of the block was blocked off and there were a ton of people gathered...apparently Tom Cruise is in Wien to shoot "Mission Impossible 5," and we happened upon the set. We never actually saw Tom (shame!) but if/when you see the movie and Tom is rapelling down the side of the exploding Wien Operhaus holding a girl, know that I was totally there.

 

At the Wein Parliament

 

At the Hofburg Palace -- former residence of the Habsburg dynasty, it
currently serves as the official residence of the President of Austria (Heinz Fischer),

 

The library at the Wein Rathaus (the town hall, which serves
as the seat for both the Mayor and the City Council)

 

Doesn't this look a wee bit like a scene from Harry Potter?
Sister Smiley is inspecting the books.

My first Viennese Sachertorte with Sister Smiley

 

Wein at Night!

The Word in Wein (maybe this one is for Tom?)

 

The top of the building does NOT have Tom Cruise...what a shame.

 

Sister Bushman at the Wein Operhaus ... I didn't see him this time, but I have
an extra Das Buch Mormon with me in case I see Tom Cruise!

 



The great tausch exchange with Sister Threlkeld, Sister
Smith, Sister Bushman, Sister Freimann & Sister Smiley

Exchanges were wonderful. Sister Smiley and I split off with Sister Smith, who is going home in 2 weeks! She is incredible, not 'trunky' in the slightest, which is incredible (trunky is a slang term describing a missionary who is excited about returning home; "trunky" means he/she has already packed his/her trunk).  I hope to be that missionary who is still talking to people on the streets and smiling and studying hard in my last few weeks as a missionary.

Mom, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE FAMILY HISTORY. This week, my mother sent me the thickest package of family history information, ever. My companions and I had a lot of fun looking through the various pictures, pedigree charts, and stories. I loved seeing how suave my great-grandfather Serge was. I also read a story about my great-something-grandfather aloud and Sister Freimann totally freaked out...apparently there is a video about him. John Tanner was a pretty cool guy (You can check him out here - https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2010-07-139-treasure-in-heaven-the-john-tanner-story?lang=eng )

Sommerfest at the Weiner Neustadt ward

This Saturday was the 'Sommerfest,' the huge summer activity for the Wiener Neustadt ward. It was pioneer-themed and there was square dancing, American foods, and country music. The only Americans there were Sister Smiley, Elder Durrant, and me. It was a ton of fun, a lot of less-active members and people investigating the church came, and we loved the fact that we were at an American party auf Deutsch in Austria. I'll miss Wiener Neustadt if I leave that area (which is most probable,) but they are a reaaaaaally solid ward, so they'll be okay.

Also, remember my ice addiction? We had a mini ice tray in the Wien 1 apartment, but none in Wiener Neustadt, and I couldn't find one to buy anywhere! We told the Wiener Neustadt Elders about the predicament and they gave me the ice tray from their apartment Saturday night! Haha! How quality is that? Sister Freimann says I should make it my own personal ice tray and take it with me from apartment to apartment. Maybe I could have my comps sign it or something, haha.
 



Soaked to the skin with Sister Freimann & Sister Smiley

 Finally, last night we had one of those comical experiences I know I'll remember for the rest of my mission. We had an eating appointment with a ward member and some of her friends scheduled and it wasn't far, so while it was overcast, we set out on foot toward her apartment instead of taking the bus. It was only about a 20-minute walk. No more than 3-5 minutes after we had left it started to sprinkle...and then rain...and then pour. None of us had umbrellas or proper coats, so at one point we all just let our hair down and laughed because we were so incredibly drenched and there wasn't much we could really do about it. We ended up having a little extra time before we needed to be there, so we stopped under an overhang and took a picture. It was so fun. It was even better when we showed up and found the Elders who were completely dry since they took the bus and brought umbrellas. (Elder Pingel even said, "I would offer to share my umbrella, but I don't think it would do you much good at this point!") We wrung out our hair and had a lovely eating appointment nevertheless.

 

I actually thought a lot about what had happened during dinner that night, Thinking about myself, there was like, no reason I should be so happy to be sitting there in that apartment. We were drenched. We had walked a ton that day. But, when else in my life do I get the opportunity to wear the black tag and tell my Brothers and Sisters in the world how much their Heavenly Father loves them, all day, every day? Everyone can withstand a little rain!
 

Have a wonderful week! Sending love from Österreich!
 

Alles Liebe,

Sister Bushman