Getting deported....maybe

 Hello Everyone!

Short Version: The last few weeks have been hectic and crazy to say the least. This last week was particularly stressful. Apparently in Lithuania (and any other EU country) you have 90 days to reside in the country without any visas or living permits, but once your 90 days are up you either need a visa/living permit or you have to leave the country. For various reasons, many missionaries don't have their visas yet, partly due to covid and some other weird circumstances with the way we got into the country. So we've been working like crazy going to the immigration office a lot, doing lots of paperwork. If our visa paperwork gets rejected (it is unlikely but theoretically) then we will all be chilling in Latvia until we can get the visa situation worked out. Good news is that covid restrictions are gradually loosening, not all the way but steadily getting looser. 

Long Version: The restrictions right now for covid aren't that bad. We still have masks at church and can only have 20 in the building. Other than that we have to wear masks in stores and public transportation but other than we're free. I'm a little jealous of people back at home. My brother, Cameron, said he hasn't worn a mask in over a month. Someday I will be able to say that, hopefully it will be during my mission. We've started meeting with members in their homes and it's been awesome. It's so much better to get to know someone in person. Also speaking to people in person is so much better for learning the language. We met with a babushka (бабушка) who's really lonely and was so happy to talk with us. She told us that she hasn't talked to hardly anyone since covid started. She's sick and doesn't get out of the house much. Other than when people bring groceries for her, she doesn't talk to anyone. 

     It was another hot week. It's really humid (around 75% some days) and it gets up around 80-90 degrees. It's quite unpleasant. At this point it doesn't matter if you wear short sleeves or long sleeves, you'll be covered in sweat either way. 

     I accidentally turned my white clothes blue. One of my blue colored shirts snuck it's way into my load of whites. Never in my life have I seen clothes turn a different color. I've heard stories of red shirts turning white clothes pink, but never experienced it for myself. I spent about 3-4 hours soaking my clothes in giant metal bowls and the kitchen sink with a product like Oxi-Clean. It was a long night but eventually after all the soaking and scrubbing and multiple washes in the washer the blue came out! Hooray for Oxi-clean. I could've been a smurf but I guess I'll just be a missionary for now.

     The language is coming along. I can kinda understand what people say to me. If they talk quickly, I'm toast but if they don't mumble and speak slowly like you would to a non-native speaker, I can usually figure out what they're trying to say. Speaking back to them is a different story. I can answer yes and no questions so well. Any open ended question really stretches my brain though. 

     Two good quotes from this week:

- "I'm so tired of having so much crap to do" (Elder Yeyna after a long day at the immigration office)

- "You don't speak Russian and you don't speak Lithuanian. You don't know where you're going or if you have the right address. It seems very strange." (A man we met while we were lost looking for a member's home, he helped us find our way)

     Some other random things:

- We met a guy nicknamed Mike Tyson. He's homeless and walks around old town collecting bottles and cans. He doesn't wear a shirt and looks lowkey jacked for his age. Not sure it's Mike Tyson, but that's what we were told.

- Elder Yeyna has been living with Me and Elder Sieverts for the past week. His companion finished his mission so the trio is back. He'll get a new companion tomorrow though. We'll also get another Elder who will live with us for a couple days. He stayed in Latvia for a few days for deportation/immigration reasons.

- I am starting to have a love-hate relationship with Lithuanians who speak English. In the moment, it's super convenient to understand what they're saying and having them be able to understand you. But in the long run, it doesn't help us to learn Lithuanian any better. We like talking to old people most because they can't run away from us, they speak super loud (assuming that's because their old friends can't hear them), and they never know English. If they do know English, they prefer not to use it.

- Elder Sieverts gave me a haircut and it looks pretty good. 

- We got a new fan. His name is Lightning McQueen because he works so much better than our old fan. He's shiny and metallic and super speedy, thus "Lightning McQueen."

- We picked some blueberries in the forest for a lady in our ward who has cancer. I didn't know but blueberries have many antioxidants, which are good for cancer I've been told. The member who drove us got a little lost on the way out of the forest. We ended up driving onto someone's property and they were very upset. A shirtless, Russian redneck came up to our car with his tiny dog and was yelling at us. This is a very good time to not know what people are saying to you.

- I bought a Pokémon shirt. Nuff said

- The heat this year is record setting for Lithuania. People weren't expecting it and there is no AC. For some reason, it's socially acceptable to go on your balcony to cool off. I have seen a lot more old dudes in speedos than I expected to see on my mission. 

      This week we saw many miracles being in the right place at the right time. Or reaching out to people at crucial times. There are lots of stories about President Monson following spiritual promptings. Even when we did not know why he was being prompted, he went. Sometimes he was in the middle of a meeting, but he still went. It's not always convenient to follow the spirit but it's the  right thing to do. I like Nephi's example: "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do."