Week 16- More Quarentining, oof

 

Hello Everybody!

Short version: I wonder if I'll ever get tired of saying 'hello everybody at the beginning of every email, hmmm probably not. This week was a transition from one quarantine to the next. I left Croatia and am now in Riga, Latvia quarentining for 10 days. After that I'll be able to head to my assigned area which will be Vilnius, Lithuania. I'm allowed outside for 30 minutes a day to take a walk or if we need to get groceries thats allowed too, but other than that I'm here in an apartment with 3 other Lithuanian speaking elders. There will be lots of language study and longing looks out the window wishing I could be free. Recently it feels like I'm the Hunchback of Notre Dame. No worries though.

Longer(ish) Version: A fun fact to note this week is by the end of my quarantine here in Latvia, I'll have spent more time in the field quarantining than proselyting. Crazy right? That being said, I've only been out for 6 weeks so by the end of my mission, 3 weeks of quarantining will seem like nothing. 

     It was a little sad to leave the Hotel Republicka. However, now I get to be in the Baltic States and I'm on step closer to being in my assignment. We flew into Riga and stayed one night in a hotel. The next day we met our Mission President who told us our area assignments and future companions. Once this 10 day quarantine is over I'll head to Vilnius, where instead of one 30 minute walk a day, I'll  get TWO 30 minute walks a day. The Baltic States are pretty closed right now for Covid, but we will make the best if it. Is it ideal, ehhhh not really. Will it still be an adventure everyday, for sure. 

Some random things that happened this week:

1. The cashier in Riga lied to us. She was trying to tell us something so we could buy our groceries and we didn't understand her. We asked if she knew and English because we're noobs and she said no. After a while of us trying to figure out what she was saying, she spoke to us in English. 

2. Two companionships in our mission that just arrived are opening up new areas. There aren't many Elders or sisters in the mission who have been in the Baltic States for more than a couple weeks. 

3. We got lost dragging our suitcases to our apartment. We had to walk with our luggage from the hotel to our quarentining apartment. It was suppose to be a 15 minute walk but it turned into an 2.5 hour journey because we had no idea where we were going. We also found out how terrible cobblestone streets are when you're trying to roll 3 suitcases around. 

I'm so excited to be here. Its already really hard learning the language but that won't stop any of the missionaries. God called us here during these circumstances because he knew we could handle it. Here is a scripture I take comfort in, "Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail" (Doctrine and Covenants 6:34). There's much we don't get to control in life but we can always choose to build upon Christ, our rock.

Viso Geras,

Vyresnysis Smitas