Week 19

Well Hello and Happy Summer Solstice aka LIGO!

On Monday for Preparation day we went out with the elders and Rihards to Cepelini, a small restaurant/bar type place and all got flatted out battered chicken on a bed of a million potato wedges. It was pretty good and very Latvian. We also went around and visited all the churches in Liepaja- the one we look at every day and the Lutheran church with the largest organ in Europe, or so they say. (note: it was the largest mechanical pipe organ in the world until 1968). Good thing that they haven't seen MoTab's organ. We also went around and saw all the statues about Liepaja being the city where the wind starts. They have a really pretty poem about it. We had a family home evening with the Tolmacovi. They have two cute little girls (baby and a 6 year old) and our goal is to get them to the temple.

On Tuesday we found out that Elder Lynch is headed off to Jelgava and that Elder Clark (who has been an assistant stuck in Riga forever) is coming down to spend his last transfer in Liepaja (his first time out of Riga). Sister Ferrin and I will still be in the magical land of Liepaja. To celebrate we force fed Elder Lynch Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. He does not appreciate powdered cheese like we fellow Americans do. We had a meeting with Oskars but he didn't show up. We ended up giving his lesson to Rita, the member who came to help and it was just what she needed. Her brother just got paralyzed and we were planning on talking to Oskars about trials. We also had a miracle with visiting Ena, the less-active. We were up in her area and called to see if we could drop by. She said yes and we had a nice chat outside and she asked for a new Book of Mormon since she couldn't find hers! She also told us that Jolanta, her daughter (also a member), was in the hospital with her baby who has RSV.

With that knowledge after having an entertaining Latvian class with Rihards (he thought we said "Sharks!" instead of "Shucks!") we headed off to the hospital. Sister Ferrin warned me of the sketchiness, so I was pleasantly surprised. Having a nurse in sandals would never fly in America though. It was definitely an older building, but they kept it fairly clean. We talked with Jolanta and then the elders came and gave her and her baby a blessing. We met with Santa today and it was another adventure. The cat (aka crocodile) attacked the dog. My legs went flying and so did dog hair, but we all made it out alive. Definitely scared us all though. She also told us about Ligo and how it is a Pagan celebration and how the girls' wreaths symbolize virtue (and so if a boy takes it or if their hair isn't in tight braids you can assume some things). The boys' wreaths are made out of oak leaves and symbolize power and strength all that manly sort of stuff that you'd associate with oak trees and not really long grass.

Thursday was a great day since it was Ligo. We had some barley mushroom soup and met with Laima! She is back after the disaster with her husband. It was neat because she said she could feel our prayers and that she felt like it was okay to answer the phone when we called. She has such the spirit, I came away edified. She took home the Restoration video and is going to watch it with her husband. We are praying for his heart to soften. We had a small Ligo party at the church. We learned how to make the wreaths (or head gear---I don't know what to call them in English). We also ate, played games, and drank kvass (yuck!- look it up on Wikipedia). It was too windy for us to have a bonfire, but normally you jump over one so that the sun will behave normally.

On Saturday I found something really neat in my scripture study. Mosiah 27! Those hooligan sons of Mosiah who went about destroyed the church followed all six steps of the repentance process found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ pamphlet. I was excited about this and so we taught Olga about repentance. She doesn't think she'll be in the country for her baptismal date... After our English class we cleaned the church as usual. Sintia cleaned the windows with anti-freeze. Let's just say that the elders cleaned them again. We also met with an awesome church member, Skaidre. She was one of the first in Liepaja and may quit one of her jobs (she has two) so that she can come to church more.

On Sunday we had a great show up to hear the Rubows talk (in charge of CES here). Laima, Liga (baptismal date), Rita (less active), Lidija (less active), the Tolmacovi family, etc. etc. We had to guard Sister Rubow's sloppy joes for the seminary graduation. Literally guard. We had rolling pins. It was awesome food though and then of course there was more missionary work. We went on splits again! Sister Ferrin went with Madara who is here for the week and I took Sintija (aka Cynthia) and Inguss with me. They were fun to go out with; Sintija is very giggly. We did have a great lesson on a park bench with a nice old lady who was willing to talk to us for five minutes! Miracles abound!

Also on Sunday Ieva and Olga dropped themselves. They don't have the desire right now to do what it takes. Later they will get baptized. Sister Ferrin found out she'll be leaving December 16th, so that is when I will begin training! She is a great missionary. President Dance told her in her interview that her mission scripture should be Alma 38:1-5. So I am with a Book of Mormon caliber missionary!

The work is going well, I love sharing the gospel with others. This is God's work and it is His glory.

Reflections on the past transfer...what I've learned.

Being a parent is hard. Infinite love, forgiveness.
Sharing and teamwork doesn't always mean 50/50
Never give up on people
You have to fight harder than Satan
"Do what you want and say what you feel because those that mind don't matter and those that matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
COMMUNICATION
-it is important to say thank you
-preface your thoughts
-the importance of words
-always think before you speak
-be clear about what you are trying to communication