Week 72 - Still in Panevėžys

June 17, 2022

Hello Everyone,

[Contents by paragraph: intro, Savelis, finding, days dragging on, Lithuanian, testimony struggles, pictures]

Well not a ton of new things are happening in Panevėžys. We've actually only got a little bit of time left here because our landlord decided to sell the apartment to someone. We don't know exactly what's happening after that, but chances are we'll leave the city and go somewhere else.

Savelis, the guy we baptized a couple of months ago is so enthusiastic to share the gospel. He shares it at English club, whenever we're with him he tells everyone who we are. He is no joke better than both of us at sharing the book of Mormon. He's also read it way more than us. He's a speed reader I swear. Soon he should be getting the Aronic priesthood which is gonna be a big step for him and for the beginning of a branch here.

A lot of the people we were working with became not as interested so we're looking for new people to teach. Lots of people seem to want to know answers but then not take any effort to figure them out. Oh well, someday. I guess they're not ready yet.

The days having been dragging on recently which blows. Finding people to teach is my least favorite thing. I wish it was like a dentist's appointment where they have the entire month booked in advanced. If people were lining up to hear from us or even just to talk with us, that would make things a lot easier. Maybe if every Book of Mormon came with a pack of oreos, just an idea. Tithing money well spent.

The language is coming along pretty good. Me and elder Morrissey are going crazy adding words to our vocabulary. We quiz each other with random dictionary words. Lithuanian, like other languages probably, has a lot of patterns. Once you learn a word you can usually learn a couple others that are related to it. Elder Morrissey got me into looking into the etomology and orgin of words and it's surprisingly helpful. Language study is an all-in ordeal. Speaking is still a work in progress, but understanding is exploding.

My testimony is still growing and a lot of times I wish it was stronger but it's taking some patience. It's one step forward and two steps back some days. Surprise surprise, even missionaries don't magically get rockstar testimonies, even though I expected it to happen that way. A good friend shared this with me and it helps me when I'm struggling. It's from Lord I Believe in April 2013 conference.

"A 14-year-old boy recently said to me a little hesitantly, “Brother Holland, I can’t say yet that I know the Church is true, but I believe it is.” I hugged that boy until his eyes bulged out. I told him with all the fervor of my soul that belief is a precious word, an even more precious act, and he need never apologize for “only believing.” I told him that Christ Himself said, “Be not afraid, only believe,” a phrase which, by the way, carried young Gordon B. Hinckley into the mission field. I told this boy that belief was always the first step toward conviction and that the definitive articles of our collective faith forcefully reiterate the phrase “We believe.” And I told him how very proud I was of him for the honesty of his quest."

Čiao,

Vyresnysis Smitas