Hey loved ones!
So last Monday we carved pumpkins for FHE and let me tell you--it's definitely going down as one of my favorite mission memories. Ludmila told Elder Erekson to carve her a scary pumpkin (I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but E. Erekson is Ludmila's favorite. He's like...he's like a human puppy. No joke, the kid didn't learn swear words until high school, soooo that's pretty much him in a nutshell). He really struggles with Russian (well, I guess not much more than I do; he's only a transfer ahead of me) so he didn't understand her request. So he carved Jesus' face. I can't even express how incredible Ludmila's reaction was. She kept saying, "This is a nightmare! I asked for a scary pumpkin and I get Jesus! What am I supposed to do, pray to it?" Hahaha she was being her normal sassy self but it was just great because Elder Erekson couldn't understand why she was freaking out and he just kept on a'carving.
Lena, another member, was also really funny to watch because she was just hacking the pumpkin to pieces and making animalistic noises because it made her 6 yr old son Mindaugas crack up. We kind of combined the activity with the Lithuanian branch as well so it was extra crazy up in there. I loved it.
My pumpkin that Elder Bolingbrooke and I worked on together got a lot of flack because it didn't have a nose and only one tooth--but like whatever! The noses are ugly anyways. Haha I'm not bitter.
Oh, and real quick before I forget, Mike: the hymn Israel, Israel God is Calling sounds like it should be redone by Utah Phillips, am I right? I don't know, use your imagination. And also can someone send me the definition of abrogation? I read it in Jesus the Christ and it's driving me nuuuts.
Anyways, another cool thing from this past week was that we called Eglė. We had been hesitant to because she said she didn't want contact with us and was really rude about it, but we called her basically because President Boswell said to. Haha anyway, she ended up being super nice and explained that she had read up to the point where Nephi decapitates Laban and that she just couldn't believe that God would command Nephi to kill someone. Which is totally understandable! That sounds crazy if you don't look closely at the whole process and how Nephi absolutely didn't want to do it either, but that God had a greater purpose in mind. She agreed to meet with us again and to read further, so that pretty much made my whole life, if we're being dramatic here.
Sister Weaver and I had lots of moments of realization in the past week. We've been frustrated with how we teach--basically it comes down to the fact that I haven't been pulling my weight. I just assumed that I wasn't capable of taking the lead in lessons and stuff because I have such a small vocab and my grasp on the grammar is pretty lacking.
So here's what it came down to: Sister Weaver told me in a comp inventory how stressed she is and how she needs me to step up, essentially. I felt horrible because I guess that I hadn't thought too deeply about how much responsibility is on her shoulders as a trainer, so I decided to take the lead in the next lesson we taught with Natalija. And guess what! I'm capable. Haha it's sad that it took me so long to realize it, but I'm totally capable of leading a discussion and asking thought provoking questions, even though it's obviously in really butchered Russian. I invited Natalija to baptism, which also felt good because we have been feeling prompted to do so but it never quite happened. She said no, but that's besides the point. Haha she's still working on receiving an answer, but I already knew that. I mostly invited her because for some reason, when you wait for a long time to ask someone to prepare to be baptized, they just stop progressing. It's a lesson I'm still trying to grasp.
We had one day where we had a lot of contacting time but for some reason nobody was home and the streets were deserted and a lot of businesses were closed down. We figured out that it was a Lithuanian holiday where they go to the cemetery and put flowers on their loved ones graves and cry. Haha it's depressing but there were tons of flowers everywhere, which was pleasant.
We had a magical day (I use that adjective because I'm not messing around--it was
lovely) on Saturday because we went to Trakai to teach the 8 yr old, Alena, again. We brought E. Erekson and E. Bolingbrooke because there's this rule that we have to have another person with us if it's just a father and the kids. Dima, the dad, was the only one that was for sure going to be home with Alena so we had to bring someone with us and it just so happened that the elders had a blank day. Christina, the mom, ended up being there but it was still fun to have the elders come with us. Trakai is kind of an all-day event because the bus ride there is forty minutes, then it takes forty minutes to walk to the Elanskaya family's house, and then we have to leave early so we can catch our bus back to Vilnius. But the fun thing is that Trakai is gorgeous and it's always fun to have lessons with Alena because we just play games with her. This time we blindfolded Alena and hid a piece of candy in the room, then told her to find it. Obviously she couldn't, which is supposed to symbolize the fact that it's hard to navigate your way through life without the Holy Ghost's guidance. Then we had E. Bolingbrooke be the Holy Ghost and tell her where to go, so finding the candy was not only easier but possible. Her cousin, Kamelia, was there and they were both laughing so hard when Elder Erekson put the blindfold on and Alena played the Holy Ghost. Kamelia's the same age as Alena and they're both really funny little Russian girls. I took a picture with them that just kills me because Kamelia is doing the classic Russian poker face. They had watched Harry Potter (Garry Potter, as they pronounce it) a few days previous and they had sticks that they pretended were wands. They were casting spells on us and screaming, "Avada kadaga!" haha it was adorable. The Russian version of spells are funnier. If we can pick highlights of our lives to rewatch in heaven, then that lesson is for sure going to be one of mine.
Elder Erekson said the closing prayer and here's a direct translation of one of the things he said: "We are grateful that we can be eating the scriptures." Haha I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO'S BEEN DUPED BY THAT VERB.
Oh, and another funny moment of my week happened before we had a lesson with Ludmila. We were a little early to the appointment so we decided to contact by Ludmila's. Sister Weaver dared me to talk to this old man with a cane who looked a little sketchy to me but, like, what was I gonna do? Be a pansy? So I stopped him and he was drunk, of course. Haha I'm still not the best at discerning when people are but I'm blaming this one on Sister Weaver. He did the classic Russian monologue for like fifteen minutes before we were able to say, "We gotta go but it was nice to meet you." He turned to me specifically and asked me something, gesturing to my hand. I thought that he was going to shake it, so I held mine out and he took it but just before he brought it up to his lips Sister Weaver told me that he had asked if he could kiss my hand. My reaction was painfully awkward because I ripped my hand away from him and was like, "I'm not allowed!" Haha I told Sister Weaver that I was never going to let it happen to me and she said good luck because it's happened to her dozens of times. I don't know what it is about drunk men and wanting to kiss your hand but I just wanna go as long as possible without becoming a victim to it.
Ah! I also remembered just now that we found out where our bab Maria lives! We plan to visit her and give her all of the gifts in the world because she's the sweetest person on earth. Seriously, I love her to death. We also saw Vechaslava on the way home and she makes life here 1,000 times better. As Sister Weaver so eloquently and sensitively says, "I'd slit my throat if babushki weren't in these countries." Terrible, but they really do make up for the lack of sunshine that we're getting. Speaking of which, it gets dark around 5 now.
Next week we find out transfers, which is a little something I'd like to talk about for a sec. Before my mission, I had thought that transfers were no big deal, but let me tell you: they are intense! Haha maybe it's just because it's early in my mission and being paired with someone who came out with me is really likely, so I'm anxious to hear where I'm going/who I'll be with. It's funny because Sister Weaver made transfer brackets for the Russian sisters. She's intense about this too, which is probably where I get it from, haha. We just know that the Russian sisters have to move around a lot because six of us are finishing training and President Boswell likes to split up trainers from their trainees after two transfers. A city also has to close, and it's rumored to be Imanta, Latvia for Russian sisters because two sisters are going home but nobody is replacing them. So gah! I guess you'll hear in two weeks where I'm at because we find out transfers the day after I email you next week.
I realized recently that I haven't really said thanks to anyone yet, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone for writing me, praying for me, or any other form of support. I have especially felt your prayers this past week and you have no idea how happy it makes me to hear from y'all. I'm glad that Halloween was fun--we taught English and talked about holidays. Roman, the creepy guy, actually did something hilarious. We told them how trick-or-treating in America works and Roman left the room for a little and came bursting through the door yelling in a very thick Russian accent, "Holiday!" and handed out chocolates filled with vodka. Hahaha he was trying to imitate trick-or-treating but didn't quite get it right. Also, I think he's a little whack in the head but I was laughing so hard I was crying.
I really love my life right now. I'm obviously struggling with a lot of things but I can already tell that some of my happiest memories have been here in Lithuania. I know it's because missions require daily sacrifices, but the more that I've sacrificed, the more I've noticed that my capability to love whom and where I'm serving has grown exponentially stronger. I guess it's the same principle in life--parents love their children beyond description and it's because of the sacrifices that they make for them. I heard a quote in the MTC that has stuck with me and I think about it a lot: "Your mission will always be home to you." That definitely didn't feel true for most of these first two transfers that I've served, but I'm starting to see it. I love the fact that I'm here with these people and I'm so blessed to start to see a glimpse of the incredible things Heavenly Father has in store for me and for His children in general.
I hope that you all have a lovely week. Thanks for making my life so good.
Love you!
-Sister Gooch
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