Week 21

Monday July 11, 2011

I'm so glad that you all have a wonderful Fourth of July. It sounded much more epic than ours. Rihards showed up to lunch at Fontaine's for hamburgers with a striped jean shirt, an American flag tie, and socks that said USA on them. It was the most awful thing I have ever seen in my life. He said that people kept on staring at him as he was walking. I don't blame them. We ate our hamburgers and fries out on the dock and Rihards got us all talking about music because he wanted to know to what we liked to listen. Sister Ferrin and I were very close to convincing Rihards to get a pedicure with us. Sister Ferrin has been wanting one since April and we didn't have anything to do so we asked him where you can get pedicures. He then recommended the place which he frequents. I may or may not have started laughing. Out loud. He then proceeded to tell us how healthy it is and how it is normal for men and women to get them. He also said if men don't go out they'd still probably do them and not let their wife know. He proceeded to act out a scenario of a husband giving himself a pedicure in the bathroom and trying to hide it from his wife. He's a funny Latvian. We went out with Annika to go visit a Russian less active that lived in the middle of nowhere after we met with Oskars. She wasn't home!! Annika didn't seem to bothered by it and she brought us Fourth of July gifts (as did Rihards). Funny Latvians. I'm pretty sure they were more excited about the holiday than we were with our glowstick bracelets. We are enjoying the cooler (cross your fingers) so far summer weather and fruits. Strawberry season just ended and now we are on to cherries and blueberries at the market.

On Tuesday I found my favorite talk for the month, "One Step After Another" by J.B. Wirthlin. We had a lively district meeting about to be and to do (based off of the talk from the past session of conference). The highlight of my Tuesday was visiting Daina. She is a member who served a mission, but we haven't felt that she likes us very much. Sister Ferrin used her mad friend making skills though and now we are just buddy pals. I was so nervous to go to her apartment at first, but it all got worked out.

Wednesday was a fun day. In the evening we got to play floor ball with the hooligans and Ingus and his brothers (Lauris and Raivo). Maxims my favorite 10-year-old friend was out pretending to be an airplane and then a cat. He then proceeded to make faces at me. I wish he could come play with us, his parents won't allow it. I scored a goal or two even! Woot! I also used my mad phone calling skills and called about 40 former English class participants and asked them if they wanted to come to English or visit with missionaries. I could totally work in a call center. We met with Rita and went over the Plan of Salvation before sports and before that we went and had a little tea time fun at Zelma Golta's apartment. She made us pancakes and we had them with honey and tart cherry jam. It was an interesting lesson...Zelma somehow got on a tangent about this lady in Latvia who would see people's deaths before they happened. Our lesson was on charity and missionary work. I'm still not quite sure how that happened. Liga got interviewed and passed! Woot! She was pretty funny when we were going through them with her before. "Of course I believe that otherwise I wouldn't be here." Well duh!

On Thursday we had planning and I did some piano practicing. Santa is a hoot and a half. We were talking about the plan of salvation and she thought that when we are ressurected it will be like zombies. She then proceeded to act like a zombie. We cleared that up. It is so fun to watch her grow! She is getting happier every day and is letting her sparkling personality show..

Friday was spent trying to figure out our lives....at least how to get to Lithuania! There is a sister from Lithuania serving there and they are having a big party and she can't go because all her friends will be there so she is coming up to Liepaja with me and Sister Ferrin gets to go down to Lithuania for a few days. There aren't a lot of busses or anything that go there so it takes a lot of planning, especially since it is going to a different country! We had an eventful night contacting. We went to Dzintara iela (Gold Street...how fitting). This one old lady, Sofia, let us straight in, regardless of her lack of clothing (Thank you whoever invented bathrobes) and wants to read The Book of Mormon (although she wouldn't take it). She wants to meet with us again so that is exciting. We also had two men invite us in. We couldn't because of the rule of three (curses!). One has had missionaries over before, but he doesn't believe and his wife died. We told him he could live with her again and that we wanted to talk about it. It is hard having to tell people you can't come in and teach them something that would make them so happy! The second man was a Lutheran in his 30s with shoulder length shiny brown hair. He has a family and with Sister Ferrin's looks and my persistant testifying he was like, "Okay, fine. Come in. I'm interested now." The next apartment we got invited into we shouldn't have gone in either. It was this Pentecostal prayer group who were well versed in the Bible and Book of Mormon. Just so you all know, I have a different bad spirit about me, but I told him he couldn't perform an exorcism and that I'd just tell my pastor person about it instead. We did stay for a prayer though. They were so very kind and asked God to forgive us since we don't know what we are doing. The head hancho man (it was this cute 50 year old peppy lady who answered the door) spoke in tongues, asked why we couldn't and wanted to touch my head when he was praying. It was interesting and I was glad to go. I am so grateful that we don't tell people they are satanic and make them feel awkward when we pray. It is definitely not God's way.

English class was funny today. The dentist wasn't there but some man who thought we should teach Russian was. Santa came and brought her friend Viktoria. It was so neat to see Santa show her around the church and just their interactions with each other. We were talking to Santa about our coloring homework from Ieva and then she said that she wanted some so we got her a coloring page too! (Although this week Ieva told me that I needed to go gardening in lieu of giving me a coloring page. She is a pretty funny girl.) We cleaned the church, just us four missionaries today and then we had Liga's baptism. I played prelude and postlude and President Scer. had us missionaries sing a musical number. He wanted just the sisters, but we insisted that the elders sing along (and thank heavens too because Elder Clark is the only one who really knows how to sing). Liga had to get dunked twice...poor lady. The first time her legs were thrashing and we thought President was drowning her. She brought two friends. One of them was crying after the baptism and asked, "Can we get baptised right now too?" She took home a Book of Mormon.

Sunday was a day of crepe making! We had 48 people at church today...a record! It helped that we had this gorgeous 17-year-old from Seattle and her exchange friend. They are doing this program where they spend a month at eachother's homes. I was able to translate a really good sacrament meeting for her. One of the talks was in Russian so I had to translate it from the translation a member was telling me. There were definitely a lot of things lost in translation! The District President gave an excellent talk on tithing though. Sunday School was good and Relief Society was almost a wreck talking about the temple. One member started asking about having multiple husbands (since they died) and if she could get sealed to both of them...aye aye aye! We also had Branch council...in Russian. Sunday night we met with Madara because she is having a hard time. Sister Ferrin was able to help her out while I chased around little Elizabeth that she is babysitting on weekends.

I had a great study this morning about our purpose on earth. Here's some homework!
2 Nephi 2:11; 10:23-24; 25:23
Alma 34:31-34
Romans 6:23
Galatians 6:7-9
Abraham 3:25
Matthew 6:33, 16:24-26

The church is true! Christ is our Savior and Redeemer!

Love, Sister Lindstrom