Week 78 - Adios Lithuania, Hello Latvia

 Hello Everyone,

Short Version: The unexpected happened and I'm actually writing this from Riga, Latvia. I got transfered into the office to be the mission secretary. It's half office work and since there's a senior couple that helps us in the office we also proselyte for the other half. I don't mind being in the office because we stay really busy, but I'm sad to not be in Lithuania since, well I'm learning Lithuanian. 

Long Version: Before coming to the mission office, I was in Siauliai. We had 4 elders in that apartment so it was very fun. Every night we'd get home and play card games. We had lots of service that. We also met these highschoolers that we played basketball a couple times. Siauliai was so fun. It's been one of the best weeks on my entire mission. One of the biggest reasons was because all of us got a long really well. I've decided that more important than an area is your companion. You can have a really crummy area but it can still be fun with good companions. Vice versa, you can have a, awesome area but it doesn't matter because you're with a companion who drives you insane.

One of the service things we did in Siauliai was helped a lady from the branch (Birute) at her farm. She has a lot of property and I think every fruit and vegetable possible. She's got bees, dogs, cats, chickens, turkeys, and these rodents form South America that are like Capebaras but that have tails like a rat. We went over to her house, cleaned up her yard, helped weed her garden, mowed her lawn and then ate lunch. That's one of the few times that I've eaten with members. The Siauliai sisters were there too. There was also another member and a random Ukrainian lady who both just wanted to eat so they helped us out and then Birute fed all of us. 

In Siauliai there are a lot of homeless people. It's a pretty small city (100,000 ish) so you see a lot of the same people on the buses or on the streets. Some of them are a bit crazy and cause chaos whereever they go. We nicknamed one of them "Dark Rolandas." Every so often he'll walk into the church and be really creepy. Then you have to chase him out. In the past he came to church on Sunday and caused a ruckus. There's also this guy named Chris and he comes to English club every week. He's not homeless, but still very unique. He's a avid vegan and have very odd views on how you must eat. For example, if you eat fruit, you can not eat any other foods for 30 minutes; you should not eat proteins with starchy vegetables; don't eat acidic vegetables in the same meal you eat root vegetables; etc. He also sent the missionaries a video he posted on youtube on him eating grass. 

One day, after a great week of being in Siauliai, I got a text from President Huff as I was getting ready in the morning. All it said was "Can I call you?" That's never a good thing. The only time the mission president calls you is if there's a problem or if something in your life is about to change a lot. We had just had trasnfers a week before so i doubted I would be going anywhere. That only left the option of a problem so I got really stressed and worried that I had done something stupid and he had found out about it. I couldn't think of what stupid thing it could have been but I was sure there had to be something. An hour or so later he finally calls and asks me if I would come to the mission office to be the office secretary. Woah! I thought I had escaped that, but apparently not. One of the previous office secretaries had recommended me at the beginning of the year and I thought I would leave to work in the office then, but they ased someone else and so I forgot all about it. Everyone used to tease me too saying I'd go to the office and I did not want to at all because it's in Latvia. Nothing against Latvia, it's just not Lithuania (well Riga is actually a pretty dirty city and just a concrete jungle but it's not the worst). After the phone I had just the rest of the day to pack up everything and get ready to leave the next morning. It was sad. I still wish that I could be in Siauliai right now.

Being in the office so far so been pretty chill. I'm in charge of anything that deals with missionaries and technology along with lots of other random tasks. Some things I've done, answered some questions to parents of missionaries, organized spreadsheets, had a meeting with President Huff and the rest of the office, counted the number of utensils we need to buy for mission conference, put together a presentation for a devotional by President Huff, and scanned and sent some documents all sorts of places. 

The office dynamic is really fun right now because the APs are right next to us in the office for a lot of the time too. The APs and us are constantly joking around and having a good time. We've gone out tracting with them a few times too. We talk to most people through the door. People come to the door, look through the peep hole, and yell "what do you want." And then we do our door approach. It's always better when people open up the door so sometimes we're like "huh? we can't hear you" and then they have to open up the door. It's really hot and humid so it's always a surprise what they'll be wearing. More times than not it's just underwear. One guy opened up his door, we started talking to him, and then he paused us and asked "do you care that I'm just in my underwear?" We told him "we really don't care" and he didn't care either so we continued on like it's a regular thing to chat with someone in your underwear. He actually ended up being interested and downloaded the Book of Mormon to his phone. Another lady threatened to call the police on us. Some kid told us he believes in Science and I was like "me too!" I'm alwasy confused by that. Why do some many people think that science and religion are mutually exclusive. It drives me crazy.

I've been studying charity this week. My favorite scripture passage about charity is 1 Corinthians 13. The idea behind the chapter is whatever you do, if you it without love, it profits you nothing. I'm going to try and memorize it because it's been so helpful for me to be thinking about. 

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." (Matthew 22:37-39)

Love God and love others. If we are doing our best to do that, we have nothing to worry about.

Viso gero,

Vyresnysis Smitas