So transfer calls were this past week and I'm now in Daugavpils, Latvia! Dad, I feel like the only reason I made the Baltic tour so fast is because you've been praying for it or something. Haha I'm grateful, nonetheless. Daugavpils, though! Yet another small, fairly Russian town. Sister Dalley and I woke up at 1:45 a.m. on Thursday and took a straight shot bus to Riga, got there at 9:00, then took a four-hour bus to Daugavpils with Sister Roy, my new companion. Remember her? She was in my MTC district and we have a ton of fun together so I was pretty pumped when I learned that I'd be with her.
Ahh, so much to tell you about. Let's start with leaving Narva.
We got the transfer calls when we were teaching Katja and we all freaked out together. Good bonding moment. I was actually really sad about leaving Narva but I've only heard good things about Daugavpils so I was excited. We had English later that day and it was one of the funnest things ever. I'm so glad I got to say goodbye to our class because they are some of my favorite people in Narva. I got a picture with Dimitri (Dima), Sasha (our investigator that I've talked about a lot), Diana (new Estonian woman who's ridiculously smart and kind), and Sister Gerohova (member that's not in my area but she's fun). They're a really smart group of people. We talked about the theory that the universe is expanding and how incredible it is that God made the cosmos and the stars and all of these incredible creations, but He also made us. That's pretty mind-blowing to me. Even more mind-blowing that they could carry on that kind of conversation in a foreign language.
We took pictures afterwards and this really sketchy guy offered to take them, so they're all blurry but near to my heart nonetheless.
After that we taught Anja one last time about the Atonement. I'm going to miss her and the girls there in general a lot.
President Kaben gave me a gift bag with Narva souvenirs, so that was super nice. I still want a cup that says, "I left my <3 in Narva". I'm sending home a box with some of them in there and a lot of winter clothes that I didn't have room for. I got a bunch of Estonian/Baltic candy for y'all so get pumped. Not sure when it's going to be sent because I left it with Sister Dalley in Narva but I trust her to send it somewhat soon because I trust her with everything else.
That's one of the saddest things about leaving Narva: Sister Dalley has become one of my best friends. Sister Coombs, my MTC companion, is taking my place and I know they're gonna work wonders together. It was fun seeing S.Coombs at the bus station before we left. I made her sit down on her suitcase while I gave her a talking to about Narva and how it's the most important/incredible place in the world and how she has to love it as much as I do.
The bus ride from Riga to Daugavpils is pretty cute. Can a drive be cute? It was. Mom, you'd love all of the different color houses and doors and gardens. It's obviously not spring yet but I can't wait to see it when everything is green and the flowers are blossoming. The most common color for a house is a mustard yellow and it's adorable, in my opinion. Latvia is a little more colorful than Estonia, from what I've seen.
Also, Daugavpils is much more colorful than I expected it to be. For some reason I always expected it to be gray and depressing (its name isn't the prettiest, right? Pronounced dog-of-pills) but it's not! Well, mostly. Haha it's more colorful than Narva, at least. Although Sister Roy and I agree that there are certain parts of Daugavpils that would be perfect for a zombie apocalypse to happen. Tons of abandoned soviet factories with shattered windows, concrete, and graffiti.
The branch here is bigger than I'm used to, too. This Sunday there were like 25 or 30 people at church, but Sister Roy told me that's not normal because President Guido Senkans came (I can't remember if he's in the Area 70 or if he is in the District Presidency. He's the guy who translated the Latvian Book of Mormon and he's suuuper rich and nice). It was awesome because we had our investigator Zita there. She is a pretty, shy woman in her early 30's who has been investigating the church for a year and a half. She's Latvian so the lessons we do are in Russian but we give her Latvian reading materials. She's awesome and I love her already.
Also, we have a member here who's President Spalvens' (branch president) daughter, Lidija. She got back from a mission in Brooklyn, New York almost a year about and she is the bomb. Seriously, she is what makes the missionary work go round here in Daugavpils. Apparently it's super rare that Zita actually comes to all 3 hours of church but Lidija convinced her to come by consistently texting her. I want to be that kind of returned missionary when I come home.
President Spalvens himself is awesome. He's really loving and happy to support the missionaries. I didn't get to talk to him or many of the members as much as I would have liked to because there were more than I'm used to, but this branch is so good. I can already tell that I'm going to love it.
Sister Roy and I have already had a lot of fun together. I'm used to being the sassy one in the companionship but she's got me beat. She's super sarcastic, so it's great.
You know what realization I had this week? That I can read a Liahona in Russian and understand pretty much everything. That simple thing makes me so happy. I remember my trainer, Sister Weaver, reading from it and thinking that it was insane that she could understand more than ten words. Look at me, all grown up and not wearing a hypothetical Russian training diaper.
Something that I've been learning lately is that it's a priceless capability to be happy in any situation you're in. It's something that the mission teaches everyone of necessity since there are transfer calls and you have to leave places and companions that you love a lot. I know that the more that I learn to lean on Christ and make Him my anchor, the less my circumstances matter. I feel like I can be happy anywhere just because my main source of peace and comfort is my Savior.
I remember thinking that people who said that Christ is their best friend before the mission were cheese balls and that you can't become best friends with someone if they're not physically there to tell you that your skirt is tucked into your underwear or whatever. I think that's been one of the most valuable things that I've come to understand since I've been here: being best friends with Christ is completely and absolutely possible/necessary for true and lasting happiness. He has shown me my weaknesses and has built me up better than anyone else could have. He's helped me humble myself and he understands exactly how I feel at all times. He proved his loyalty on the cross and in the garden and every second in between because He orchestrates our lives along with our Father to be as extraordinary as possible. Extraordinary in this context doesn't refer to material possessions in any way. Extraordinary means that he gives us as many opportunities as possible to progress and change our hearts, whether we recognize them as opportunities or not.
I feel blessed because I've been able to recognize the tiniest fraction of those opportunities enough to bring me here, to where and who I am.
So when I say that Jesus Christ is my best friend, I hope you can push aside the cheesy meaning at first glance and really understand that He is my support, confidant, and anchor.
Love you all to the moon.
Love,
Sister Goochka
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