So let's just talk about the fact that Estonia is BUTT COLD. Haha I'm in Narva, this tiny town four hours (ish) away from Tallinn. Actually, it borders Russia. If you have a decent arm, it's a stone's throw away. Sadly, I don't, but I've heard of missionaries who've done it so that's cool for them.
Saying goodbye to Vilnius was bitter-sweet. Nobody was more surprised about transfers than yours truly--but mostly I was pumped. We went to Ludmila's right after we found out and she made us eclairs that were phemomenal, kak abuichna. It was a little bit sad since she's like my Russian babushka, but I was pretty pumped about Narva anyway.
I also got to say goodbye to Alvidas, which was providential and one of the greatest moments of my mission. He took my hand and looked me in the eyes (as only dear, soul-melting Alvidas can) and told me to listen to my heart, don't stop believing, and a bunch of other stuff that Journey sings about. I told him thanks for how much he's helped me and before I could even finish my sentence he was hugging me. Haha show me a sister missionary who wouldn't hug Alvidas back and I'll show you someone without a heart.
We also got to do one last west side excursion with Elder Packham and Elder Hall. I will for sure miss working with them because they're fuuuuun. We went to a Russian guy's door who they called Boxer Guy because he was only wearing boxers when he answered the door the first time they went. He answered; told us he was busy but would ABSOLUTELY call us, which means he will never call us. But it was all good because it gave us the excuse to hang out with the elders one last time.
And oh! The sweetest miracle of them all: Sister Weaver and I brought flowers to Maria, our babushka friend! We finally were able to write her a cute little note and deliver it. I told her I was going to Narva (kinda sounds like larva, doesn't it?) and got to say goodbye. Babushka kisses are the best. One on each cheek, along with a cute little hug. She's adorable.
Packing wasn't too bad, but the worst part was 13 hours on a bus. I took a bus to Riga, then another bus to Tallinn, and then another to Narva: all of them approximately four hours long. Cool thing about the ride to Tallinn: my traveling companion was Sister Karr, who's serving in Tallinn. We traveled with two other elders and about an hour into the trip, a big guy came to the back where we were sitting and said, "I thought I heard someone speaking English!" Apparently he's from Louisiana and his name is Mark. He and his wife, Terry, travel Eastern Europe and are kind of like musical missionaries for the Southern Baptist church. He was super nice and told us how cool he thinks it is that we're setting aside 19-24 months of our lives to talk about Christ. Terry came and talked to us too, and eventually it got to the point where we discussed the differences in our beliefs. They "exhorted" us to stick to the Bible, which was well-intentioned. There was a few moments where I really felt like the Spirit was working through me. I was able to tell them about the verse in the Bible that says, "by their fruits ye shall know them" and testify about the fact that good and only good things have come from my testimony and studying of the Book of Mormon. I guess I don't really get why someone who holds God's word to be of such import would be so unwilling to learn more about Him. I had a hard time explaining why the Book of Mormon is necessary, so that's sort of my bad.
Anyways, my new companion is Sister Benson. When it was my second day in Riga and we were all lined up in front of the trainers and waiting to be told who was training us, I had seen her and immediately I thought, "I wanna serve with her." She was also Sister Weaver's companion just before I was and honestly, she's such an awesome missionary/human being in general. She's a food science major and she loves to cook, so I've been eating like a queen ever since I got to Narva. Seriously, I'm so lucky. Haha I sound like I'm talking about my life partner. But she's been out for over a year and she's super nice and has a talent for loving people in exactly the way that they need it. Here in Narva, it pretty much couldn't get more opposite from Vilnius. The branch is tiny (approximately 20 people, but less actually attend) and the majority are young girls. Sister Benson is just amazing because she's like an older sister to these girls and we're working on getting them started with personal progress/following For the Strength of Youth. Sister Benson opened Narva for sisters the transfer that I got here, and the church is only ten years old here. There's one priesthood holder besides the senior missionary branch president, President Dolgov (from Russia) and the other four elders who are here (Cook, Rawlings, Hampton, Allred). The Dolgovi came last transfer and before then, a normal elder had always been branch president.
As you can imagine, things are kind of crazy. I'm so grateful to serve in places like this and to see how some people do so much for the branch where I know most people in the world wouldn't be willing to pull as much weight as they do. It's made me realize that I can't just be the kind of member who doesn't attend activities or do my visiting teaching when I get home. God gave us the personality traits and talents that we have for a lot of reasons, and I know that one of them is to strengthen and lift where we stand. It's sad to think that lots of members think they don't fit in or that their talents aren't needed in their wards/stakes/branches. I wish everyone could just realize that their diversity of talents and opinions is needed and welcomed in the church. The branch is struggling and my first Sunday here was theeee most insane thing I've ever experienced.
Somehow there wasn't a lesson planned for Relief Society so what ended up happening was that the eight people there just talked about the problems that they have. I only tell you this story because it's literally one of the funniest things I've ever witnessed. At one point, someone said something offensive to Katja, an 18-yr old, and she started crying. There's this woman, Sister Janis (Ya-nees), who is suuuuuper loving and energetic and sort of crazy in a lovely way. She has an extremely large chest and she loves to hug, which can be smothering, as you can imagine. As soon as Katja started crying, Sister Janis jumped up and ran over to her. Now imagine this, if you can: Katja's face is crushed to Sister Janis' chest as S. Janis strokes her hair and frantically repeats over and over, "Everything is good, Katja! Have peace! Glory to God! Hallelujah!" Hahahaha I die just typing it. She's one of the greatest people I've met.
Quick funny story about visiting a member last night: Svyeta has a really annoying and mean cat and as soon as we sat down, the stupid thing sat right on my lap. What is it with me and animals on my mission?! It's like they know how much I despise them and they want to rub their grubby little bodies on me. Haha life is good.
The branch is full of really amazing people, and even though it's totally not what I'm used to, I love it here. It's definitely culture shock all over again, but the great thing about that is that the food/dairy here is sooooo good. Part of that might have to do with the fact that Sister Benson always makes really good stuff (we're having curry this week!) but I think in general the food is just great. And by the way, I eat mushrooms, tomatoes, and onions now. I'm all growed up.
We had zone conference in Tallinn on Saturday, and that was really cool because Elder Bennett from the Area Seventy came. He talked a lot about consecration, which is a subject that you would think I'd understand by now but I don't. Haha that's apparent by the fact that I learn something new every time. He was talking about the fact that we tend to think that the major part of the conversion process is over in our investigators once they start living the commandments, like paying tithing and obeying the word of wisdom. That's the lower tier of obedience, and that brings blessings and peace for sure, but it doesn't necessarily bring true happiness. What brings happiness is giving yourself over to the Lord: trusting in Him instead of what you think is best for yourself; being able to let go of the things that you think or are pretty sure will make you happy, and doing instead what you know the Lord would want for you. It's kind of a hard concept to grasp because I think it's easy to think, "I know exactly what makes me happy so why wouldn't I do it?" I guess the difference is in making decisions based on the happiness that lasts; choosing to do things that may not be as pleasant or desirable for us now but that will ultimately bring us true satisfaction and joy.
I'm sorry this is so short--blame it on the fact that I've been emailing Ash back and forth this whole time. Haha I love you all and I pray for your specifically and individually every day.
Love,
Sister Gooch
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