Guess where I'm at right now? That's right, Latvia! But different city. I was transferred to Imanta, which is an area in Riga. There's Riga Center (downtown Riga) and then there's Imanta (more residential area of Riga). It's beautiful. And big! At least compared to Daugavpils and Narva. Aaand a lot less Russian. I've said "Lab dien" more than I have "Privjet".
But I loved it from the second I got here. A few factors went into that: 1. I'm serving with Sister Roy again! And it feels so good. 2. I'm in the same district as Sister Dalley and her new trainee, Sister Fackrell (not sure how to spell that). Being in the same district as two other sistersnever happens!!! 3. Imanta is so green and beautiful. 4. Being transferred at this point in my mission is much easier because it turns out that speaking and understanding pretty well makes all the difference in how comfortable you feel.
Church on Sunday was so good. It was a testimony meeting and for the first time in my whole mission, it was a steady stream of the members getting up and bearing their testimonies. I had considered getting up and introducing myself, as is custom, but decided it could wait until next week. I'd already introduced myself to all of them beforehand. But it was such a powerful testimony meeting. The cool thing about this branch is that there are a few families that are members and there are like three returned missionaries! Families in the branch somehow connect everyone else and the whole thing feels like a family.
Plus, I was able to see my friend, Valerij! He's the first member I met in the Baltics because he helps the missionaries with their living permits here and he's a hoot. He's in our branch. He came up to me and said that my necklace was pretty. I tugged on his nice little vest and told him, "Right back at'cha." Love that guy.
The whole branch is so great. I realize that I've been using the same three adjectives for this whole email but there's just no other way of putting it. Imanta is lovely. We're opening up a new area so we've just been trying to get on our feet and organizing our apartment since I got here. We're so ready to work, though. Something about being with Sister Roy has made me realize that we don't have much time left and so there's no doubt in my mind that these next two transfers will be the best and most exhausting ones of my mission.
Saying goodbye to Daugavpils would have been really sad if I had time to do it. We had a day to pack and get our area ready for new sisters to come in. Anita, the new English student, asked us if we could go mushroom picking with her that night so we went! I've always wanted to go mushroom picking. We also picked berries while we were there, as you can see. It was so nice of her because she made a Lithuanian treat that I had mentioned that I loved and missed, so we had a picnic in the forest and then set out. It was hilarious because she told us that there's a type of bug that falls from the trees in the forest that, if it bites you, is deadly. So this solves the mystery, folks! This is why babushki wear scarves on their heads--so the bugs in the forest don't bite them. It's logical, kind of.
It was also incredibly entertaining watching Sister Clark walk through the forest with the basket of food. Literally every thirty seconds she'd scream and fling the basket because she ran into a spider web. So funny. Anita said that's how you can tell that you're in a good spot for picking mushrooms; if there are tons of spider webs then that means that people haven't been there before you.
I don't blame Sister Clark for freaking out though. The spiders were huge.
I feel like I've been exposed to the prettiest parts of Latvia in the past week.
Saying goodbye to Inna was the saddest thing, besides the fact that I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to the members. We had a good lesson with her about why she needs the gift of the Holy Ghost and then we broke the news that both of us were leaving the following day. She took it really well, though. When she asked how old the new sisters would be, I told her 19 and 20. She got all dramatic in her Inna way and started flipping through the Book of Mormon, saying, "So it is true, then. The babes will teach the old people." Cracked me up. She's going to be fine in the trusted hands of Sister Coombs and her new trainee.
I've learned so much in the past two transfers. I was thinking about a few of the lessons that stuck out to me the most, and one of them is that I've come to understand the importance of trying to understand other people.
Obviously with each companion, there are a variety of challenges and we have a different way of thinking, but what I've been blessed to learn is that no matter how different or foreign somebody else's way of thinking is to you, the Lord can give you an understanding of their hearts.
Of course, understanding other people starts with self-understanding. You can't understand someone better than you understand yourself. That's why when you meet someone who is easily annoyed or thinks that all of their ex's are crazy, it's clear that they don't know how to relate to other people and, chances are, they're one prideful son of a gun. Being unable to relate to others shows an inability to look outside one's self and to humbly accept that you aren't an authority on knowing all things that are worthwhile.
I'm pretty convinced that we're capable of relating to anybody, so it's not like it's an impossible task. We all have multitudes inside of us; conflicting parts of our tastes or random connections that we can make. Generally, the only thing keeping us from making those connections is just our pride because we don't want to have anything in common with someone that we classify as disagreeable.
So, stating it in an obvious way, if you ever feel like someone is illogical or not understandable, it's because you don't understand them. Rather than being okay with our judgments, we all have the option of looking again...and again and again, or as many times as it takes to see their heart in the way that God sees it. We are all blessed with access to gifts of the Spirit if we seek them, and that includes the gift of discernment. All gifts are given from God to enable us to magnify and multiply the beauty that He has already created; to glorify the works of His hands. By not being able to see your own gifts or the gifts of others and by misunderstanding them, we significantly restrict the possibilities of beauty and enrichment that comes from those gifts. By being narrow-minded, we limit the richness of meaning in our lives.
As it says in the thirteenth article of faith, we seek after everything that is virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy. That's not just in books; that's in people. And if we don't see it at first, then it's our duty to find it. Once we find it, then it comes naturally for us to share it. When we share it, the beauty is multiplied and a new depth comes into our relationships and interactions with others.
It's a cycle: understanding generally begets understanding, and the only direction that your relationship with somebody can spiral is upwards when both parties are seeking (against all odds or likeliness) a mutual understanding and are unwilling to settle for thinking of each other by their first, second, third, or fiftieth impressions.
I'm so grateful for your prayers and any other form of support that you give me. I love you all to the moon and back.
Love,
Sister Gooch
No comments:
Post a Comment