I finally got a watch this week, which is a miracle because I was beginning to feel like they didn't sell watches here. It just so happens that Zhenja works at a little watch kiosk in the place that we grocery shop, and I bought it from him. He also fixed Sister Dalley's watch for free, which further prove that he's the bomb.
We taught him and Masha last week, which was fun as always. We committed them both to stop drinking coffee and tea together. It was funny because I extended them the commitment and Masha was like, "Wellllll...." and I said, "Yes or no." Zhenja was like, "Come on, Mash. Let's do it." And then they did a pinky swear and it was the happiest moment. Haha I love that I can be really straightforward with them. In fact, it seems like teaching them any other way doesn't work. We went back the next day with a garbage sack and emptied their cupboards of coffee and tea, then gave them some Inka (coffee substitute) and fruit tea that they can drink. Things are going really well with them. They're hilarious.
We focused a lot of our efforts this week on members. We taught Sister Valling, who I know I've mentioned but I don't know if I've expressed just exactly how much she helps us. She's helping a lot with Sasha and Olga and she's pretty much the most solid person ever. She totally understands how the church is supposed to work and she has a gift for helping people do the right thing. I don't really know how to explain that gift but she's got it. Anyways, the morning of the day that we were going to teach her, I was reading in the Book of Mormon and trying to figure out what she needed to hear that day. I read in 3 Nephi chapter 12, and verse 13 caught my eye. I know I've had a bunch of Sunday school lessons on this verse, talking about the salt of the earth and whatnot, but I never felt very solid in my understanding of it. But as I read it, I felt like we needed to base the whole lesson on it. So when we got to Sister Valling's, after we opened with a prayer, I told her to turn to 3 Nephi 12:13. As soon as she did, she started to cry. She read it and was really emotional through the whole thing. Afterwards, she told us why it meant so much to her. Apparently when she was born, her parents named her Marika, but shortly afterwards her father felt very strongly that they needed to change her name to Maarika with two a's. This was back in the Soviet times, so changing legal documents was next to impossible, but he went through the trouble and did everything he could to change them. The reason he did all of that was because he knew that "Maarika" in Estonian means "salt of the earth". I've never cried on a lesson before, but I can't really express how absolutely sure my knowledge is that Sister Valling is someone that I've known for a really, really long time. She said that lots of missionaries come and go but she has felt with a certain few that she knew them in the life before this and knew that they would be working together, and she said that Sister Dalley and I are two of them. It's definitely not a lesson I'll ever forget.
Actually, that whole night was something I'll never forget. Quick side note to preface the story that's about to unfold: Sister Dalley's boots are pretty much destroyed so she's been wearing flats with tights underneath. The whole branch has been in an uproar and everyone has been calling to see if she got boots yet (it's been about a week) and three members gave her boots that were too small. They're sooo concerned and caring about it. Earlier that day, we had taught Sister Dik with the elders and she was horrified about Sister Dalley's shoes, so after we left she called Sister Ermohhena, who called Sister Janis. And here's where the adventure begins:
We got into our apartment elevator, rode eight floors up, and as soon as we stepped out we heard, "Сёстры!" (Sisters!) I thought I was imagining it but then we walked down our half-flight of stairs and there, standing wide-eyed and urgent, was Sister Janis. I asked her how long she had been waiting there and she said, "I knocked on your door and I knocked and knocked and when you didn't answer I asked God where the sisters are and the Spirit told me that you were on your way and then I heard the ding! and I knew it was you glory to God hallelujah!" And yes, she said it all without a breath in between. She told Sister Dalley to grab her boots and follow her. You should know, by the way, that members/nobody is allowed to come to our apartment, plus it wasn't preparation day so we shouldn't have been dealing with her boots anyways...but I'd like to see one of you tell Sister Janis no. Haha she was kind of freaking out about it. What ended up happening was, for the next hour of our lives, we were following Sister Janis as she tried to find this shoe repair guy in Narva while she prayed out loud nonstop for guidance, for the shoe repairman's heart to be soft, for Sister Dalley's legs and feet to stay warm so she could still have children later on in life, etc. She didn't know the address (and she was leading us through these ghetto streets with a fair share of drunk men, which was hilarious in and of itself because they would catcall and Sister Janis would think that they were talking to her and she'd get all sheepish and talk about her former years as an exotic dancer) and she would stop pretty much everyone we passed to ask for directions. Finally she stopped these two babushki and we stood there staring at each other and wondering what was happening to the quiet night we had planned, which was to eat dinner and then weekly plan, while these three babushki yelled at each other until they finally decided that they would just lead us there themselves. We were walking a little ahead of them because they were slow as sin, and Sister Janis turned off on this random street because she thought she had found the building. Instead it was this tiny door that was obviously not it, so she turned around as the babushki were about to pass us and yelled, "Dyevchunky! Where is it?!" Killllllled me. I'm not used to babushki being talked to like they're 10-year old girls but I loved it.
We finally found the guy and Sister Janis blessed his household and invited him to church after we dropped off the boots. The whole time I was wishing so hard that I had my camera with me, but I did the next best thing and asked Heavenly Father if this could be, in perfect detail, on my life movie that I figure I'll watch after I die.
My heart has been really heavy lately--like I'm always in pain or something. Haha it's not even physically, necessarily, it's just that I am pretty sure I've never cared this much about anything or anybody. I feel like my time in Narva has given me the tiniest glimpse of what Heavenly Father feels for each of us. I feel like Heavenly Father must be getting me ready for something really miraculous, too, because I am feeling less adequate than ever before. Don't get me wrong: I know I'm perfectly capable, I'm just very aware of my weaknesses. But I'm relying more than ever before on the promised blessings and help from Heavenly Father to make up for who I am and who I'm trying to become. It's also teaching me patience with myself, for sure.
But watch any inspiring drama movie and tell me I'm not on the brink of miracles.
Also, I found Mosiah 4:12 the other day and I absolutely love it. If you ever wanted to know exactly who God is and what He's like, then you don't need to wait any longer! It says that if we call upon Him daily in prayer, being humble and submissive, then here are the blessings we'll receive:
1. You will always rejoice.
2. You will always be filled with the love of God.
3. You will always be forgiven of your sins.
And here comes the zinger...
4. You will grow in the knowledge of the glory of Him who created you. (That's God!)
It's cool to realize that we pray because we have the chance to get to know, understand, and appreciate the very Being who gave us breath. And why is that important? Because if we're going to become like Him, then we need toknow Him. Logical, right?
I'm sorry, you can tell I've been teaching 14-year olds. Haha I just thought that those were rad blessings of prayer.
I love you all and I'd love to hear from you. Have a great week!
-Sister Gooch
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