Sunday, September 28

March 31, 2014

Čau, ģimene un draugi! (Hey, family and friends!)

This week really was crazy, not because of being busy, but because of all that happened!! I'll get to that in a little bit, but here is the update on the work in little Liepāja center (our area).

So, we have 2 baptismal dates in the area! It is such a blessing. Viktorija is still doing very well, and progressing to be baptized May 26th. Her family found an apartment and we moved a lot of their stuff on Saturday with Elder Cook's (a russian speaker) help, as well as their investigator, Otto, let us use his car! (we had Elder Cook particullarly help because Viktorija's dad Viktor is a Russian). He was an awesome help to have as well. He is a good worker and loves to serve! (Otto is getting baptized on April 26th) It is wonderful to see! Viktorija's dad's heart is definitely being softened. Elder Cook and Webb are planning on going back over today to help finish them move and Elder Cook is just going to flat out ask Viktor if he will meet with them to find out more. We are saying our prayers so that all goes well with that. We are grateful for the opportunity we had to help their family move. It was a lot of fun. They didn't move very far from where they were already living, so we would pack the car full and then carry the bigger things that wouldn't fit in Otto's little car. So, Sister Scott and I walked through the streets of little Liepāja carrying chairs one time, and then the next I carried a closet door and Sister Scott a bookcase. :) It was quite the site!! :)

Also, Skaidrīte accepted a baptismal date! Or more like she asked when she could be baptized! What a miracle find she is! Three sundays ago we go out with only 15 minutes before sacrament meeting to see who we could talk to. Well, we run into Skaidrīte and talk to her a little bit about church and why it is important. She believes in God, but just worships at home. Well, she says, "I'm busy now, but I'll come to your services next Sunday. What time do the services start?" We exchanged information and sure enough, the next Sunday she comes! She loved it too!! We called her afterwards and she just gushed. Well, this last week we had our first meeting with her. She was very open and listened very attentively. When we got to the end, Sister Scott was about to invite her to baptism, when Skaidrīte just asks, "What do I need to do to be baptized into your church? How much does it cost? Where can I find a white dress?" It was so cool! She was so excited to accept that commited. So, we invited her to prepare to be baptized on May 3rd. Sister Scott and I however are planning that she will get baptized on April 26th. She's been to church twice and loves it, as well as she started to read the Book of Mormon and has found a lot of happiness from it. She is so excited to be baptized. One member came up to her after sacrament meeting yesterday and asked, "Will you be coming again in the future? Skaidrite responded, "Of course, I have plans to be baptized in the near future." To me this shows how the Lord is hastening the work and how the spirit works with people. She understood the restoration well and understands that she must be baptized with the authority! I feel so blessed to help her prepare for baptism on the 3 of May.

As far as other investigators, we just have Inara and her husband, Ojars. It is a little slower with them. They are living the Word of Wisdom however, but she is struggling with her commitment. We think she is afraid to do that which she has said she would do because she doesn't want to let go of her old faith. She is a Lutheran and doesn't want to betray her ancestors by giving that up. We had a good lesson with them last week about the four things we must do if we want to find out, being read, pray, attend church, and meet with us. They agreed that these are things they would like to try. Inara came to church on Sunday and Ojars would have been if he hadn't been sick. We'll keep working with them slowly step by step and see where it goes. 

Well, the biggest thing that made our week so crazy was that every missionary in our little city of Liepaja moved apartments to accomadate the senior couple that moved in. It was crazy! We moved into one apartment that used to be the elder's apartment. It was a mess, but we worked our tails off every moments we got, and that apartment is looking great! We love it! It is bigger than our last one and in a fun location. I'll send pictures soon! ;) The sad news is, the senior couple is already going back to America. :( One of them was having panic attacks because of the stress, and they just couldn't take it. They got here on Wednesday, and were already headed out today. The branch is really going to be sad. They were so excited for a senior couple.

So the rest of my email is about all the interesting stories that I have been wanting to tell you all.

First off, there are a lot of drunk people in Latvija! Alcohol and smoking are very, very common here. So, we run into people that are drunk quite a lot on the street. They are not always the most pleasant company to talk to, but sometimes the experiences with them are funny. Well, we do our best not to talk to drunks (be they act  abrasively and they can't really remember anything they were to hear about the gospel). I am learning however, that I am not very good at telling if someone is drunk. A few weeks ago, Sister Scott and I were talking to this man, when all of the sudden she elbows me. That is usually a sign of let's go! Well, I look around and there is a very drunk man coming across the street yelling something at us. We realize that he is not happy and wants something from us. We quickly hand the guy we were talking to a card and start fast walking it away from the drunk guy, who follows us!! It was so funny though! He really was too drunk to catch up or do any harm, but it was funny! Sister Scott asked why I didn't see him coming. My excuse, I don't have a drunk guy radar!!! :)

Also, another adventure of the last week is that we lost our phone. That was no fun! So, now we have a new phone, but it itself cause adventure! It is more complex than our last phone, and we are still trying to figure out how to use it. Well, I was trying to call someone the other day, and the phone had saved the number wrong. So, while I think I'm calling a fellow missionary, I'm actually calling a man that we had talked to on the street the day before! It was so embarrassing, and I was so confused! Sister Scott got a good laugh out of it though. :)

Little spiritual thought. Keep a good attitude. My grandma told me that she thinks my success is based on my atttitude, and I definately think that it is a factor. Keep a good attitude up this week, because as she said, "The Lord cannot bless someone with success if they only see the negative."

Love you,
Māsa Klauvarda

No comments:

Post a Comment