Week 45: May 5, 2014

Hey everyone!

It has been such a good week. We got on a night train from Moscow (which means that it looked a little bit like Harry Potter if you squinted one eye and pretty much closed the other) that stopped in Daugavpils and went all the way to Riga. It was weird to be on a form of transportation and not hear Latvian over the speakers, but just pure, sweet Russian. We had to wake up at 4:30 to make it so we were pretty exhausted by the time we made it to zone conference. Latvia is so beautiful though. Everything is turning green and wildflowers are starting to bloom in the countryside. It was our last time seeing Sister Benson, so it was nice to be able to say goodbye before she headed home. They also announced transfers, which was fun. It never happens with the whole zone together. Sister Roy and I are together again in Daugavpils, which is exactly what both of us were hoping for but not expecting because she's already been here for four transfers. Never wanted to chest bump someone so bad.

Another exciting thing about transfers is that Elder Hampton, who I served with in Narva for a transfer and was our zone leader here, came down to Dpils with a trainee, Elder Grimes. They are both awesome and really fun to work with. And also, Sister McDiarmid is coming back to Riga to be our new sister training leader! I am so pumped about that because we haven't been able to serve in the same country since we got here.

Although we weren't able to meet with Zita, something really cool has happened with her. We've been working on getting her to be more open about any questions that she has so that we can point her in the right direction as to where to find answers. Well, she finally took it to heart and has been texting us with her questions. Her first one was, "Can you remind me why God doesn't give us answers to our prayers right away?" It makes me so happy because it's like proof that she's truly thinking about what we're teaching her, and that it's not just going in one ear and out the other. 

We were able to meet with Inna again this week. I swear, the more opportunities that I get to teach people, the more I can feel my love and understanding grow for them. We weren't able to get the quit smoking program totally ready because we haven't been able to find a member that is free to help us out with it so we moved it back a week. What we did do was watch the Restoration film with her and teach her about authority. She's great because right after I finished explaining the concept of authority using the example of the difference between a policeman giving me a ticket and a garbage man giving me a ticket, she said, "Okay, so in application, this means that baptism isn't valid if the right person doesn't perform it." She's smart. That made sense in her head, but since she doesn't believe that the Savior actually helped anybody by dying, it's hard for her to believe that God's restored gospel could change anyone in our days. She said she wanted us to send her daily scriptures though, so she is still wanting to learn more.

I don't know if I've mentioned this, but we have sports night every week on Saturday. This Saturday we showed up to the usual soccer field and there was already a team there, mostly comprised of 15-8 year olds, plus their coach who looked exactly like Brat Noren from the MTC. (Shout-out to Brat Noren! Miss ya and hope everything's going well!) They invited us to play with them, so we did, thinking that even though they had more people, we would be fine because they were mostly little kids. Well, we were pretty much dominated. Kids here are so, so good at soccer.

Which reminds me: the pictures are 1. Sister Roy and I laughing really hard because of the previous 10 attempts to get a decent picture and giving up, and 2. Do you see that little tornado? His name's Pashka, and he is insaaaane. 

It was fun though and we're hoping that they'll be there next week.

President Spalvens invited us over to eat shashlik, too. It was such a pretty day and it was yet another moment that seemed surreal because we sat in the back yard of this little green, wooden house with a garden and greenhouse next to us while the smell of grilled meat filled the air. I told Lidija that if I closed my eyes, it almost felt like America.

It was so good though. I had the realization that I will be really sad to return to American food after eating so well here.

Randomly, I've thought a lot this week about the phrase, "Love is blind." Now bear with me, here, haha. I read a talk by Bruce C. Hafen about it and it kind of blew my mind. He made the point that love is not blind; it is bound. And the more it is bound, the less it is blind. I've thought about that in the context of consecration and my missionary work. I interpret bound to have the same meaning as dedicated, or consecrated. Often I find that there's a choice we can make when we have something that requires commitment in life: we can either hold back some portion of our heart and keep ourselves from experiencing as much pain, and by extension, as much joy or blessings, or we can plunge into it wholeheartedly. That's applicable for relationships, jobs, missions, educations. I've thought about the moments on my mission where my heart just aches like I never thought it could, and compared it to the moments that I've held back a part of myself for the sake of keeping myself from experiencing pain. In the moment, the first was harder to experience, but in retrospect, it is much more painful for me to think about the fact that I didn't give it all that I had in every circumstance I was in. I want to be the kind of person who gives my all to everything that I dedicate myself to, and so I guess that I'm really lucky to be where I'm at because there's not better place to learn than on a mission. 

I love you all a lot and hope you have a great week! Thanks for your prayers and support, by the way. They really do carry me along.

Love,

Sister Gooch

Week 44: April 28, 2014

Hey folks!

It's been a real good week. One of the pictures I attached is the portrait that I drew of Sister Roy (Obviously hair is a struggle for me) and then the other one is of the zoo. I'm now moving on to drawing a portrait of Anna, so wish me luck with that sucker. She's cute though so it won't be too rough :)

I forgot to tell you that a few weeks ago, we finally got a chance to do service for Sister Shamshura. We basically just stacked wood for her, but it was so nice to be able to help her. It gave me a chance to get to know her a little better and ever since then, I've felt a lot more comfortable talking to her. 

This week we were able to stack wood and help Valentina garden. I was turning over the soil with a shovel and the whole time, everyone was so impressed with my technique and they kept saying, "Well, she is from Idaho. Of course she knows what she's doing." I didn't bother mentioning that picking raspberries or peas while my grandpa trims or digs is about the extent of my gardening experience, but I thought it was pretty funny. 

During that time, I made the mistake of not understanding a Star Wars reference and consequently asking what it was from. Now Elder Hansen is determined to tell me every detail of the whole saga (can you call that a saga? I've never seen it). We're about two hours in and I just found out who Darth Vader is. I'm counting my lucky stars that it's only on Mondays that Elder Hansen has to, in his words, "culture" me. He's a hoot.

And, random side note, there's a fair that came right by our apartment and every day we walk by it, I feel like we're in America because it's usually playing music from Grease and there's a ride with the statue of liberty on top. It feels like summer here.

Last week we were able to go to the zoo as a district and that was really fun. I was actually super impressed with Daugavpils' zoo because even though it's tiny, it looks awesome. As you can see from the picture, it looks like a jungle inside. The coolest part to me was that they had lots of open cages and there was a colony of ants crawling along the branches above our heads. I took a picture with a monkey for Riv. He would have loved it. 

We also went to the Crepist (a really old fortress) and it was fun to go through all of the underground tunnels. We didn't have much time but I figure I'll be here another transfer so I'll go back sometime.

My favorite part of the week was our "girls' night" that we had with Zita, Lidija, and Anna. We watched Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration in English because all of them are fluent and it's more powerful that way since Zita speaks better English than Russian. Zita is a very tender person and she cried for most of it. She didn't understand why Joseph had to go through so much and why so many innocent people were persecuted and killed. She said, "It doesn't seem fair that he received all of those things from God and then he didn't even get to do anything about it before he was killed." It was cool to be able to say, "Well look at where we're at right now. We're in a church building in Latvia because of what he did. He didn't die in vain because we're here." She came to church on Sunday and she is doing really well. I really love her a lot.

We also had another lesson with Inna on Saturday. Teaching her English is so fun. For the spiritual half of the lesson, she wanted to read the Book of Mormon, so we read the intro and answered a bunch of her questions. We're also going to do the quit smoking program with her on Thursday, so we're happy about that. She came to sacrament meeting on Sunday and even though she came late and left right afterwards, I asked her what she thought about it and she said, "It's like medicine here." I'm so excited for her to find out that she can have that kind of feeling with her 24/7. She told us on our lesson on Saturday that "the Mormons live a perfect life". I thought that was interesting and it made me want her to find out for herself all the more.

I finally finished reading Doctrine and Covenants! So many things that I've always skimmed over have jumped out at me. I started reading the Pearl of Great Price and something in Moses 1 struck me. In the first chapter, it tells of God's visitation with Moses and how He shows Moses the world and all of His creations therein. I circled every time that He addresses Moses, because a few times, he says "my son", and if you pay attention to what His message is to Moses, it's a lot about his divine potential. It's interesting to contrast that with Satan's appearance soon afterwards, where some of the first words out of Satan's mouth are, "Moses, son of man". Aren't the differences between the two so illustrative of every situation in our lives? It is always the Spirit of God telling us that we are His; that we have potential to become just as He is and that we need not stoop below our privileges. On the other hand, it's always Satan trying to make us forget who we are and Whose we are. For Moses, it was very clear that it was God talking to him and then that it was Satan talking to him. In our days, it's not quite as easy to distinguish the source of our thoughts, of the comments of others, or of anything that we choose to listen to or surround ourselves with. I think this experience that Moses has is a good example of what we can apply in our judgments, though. We can determine if whatever we are hearing or thinking builds us up to become as God is or if it diminishes our potential and stunts our growth. By those measures, we can know perfectly the source of whatever it is we're dealing with. 

I realize that making decisions in life is hardly ever that black and white, but I think that the more we apply small truths like this, the easier it becomes to see things as they really are.

I had always thought that the more involved people were in this church, the more "Mormon-y" and less relatable they become. Now that I'm here, I realize that's just plain stupid. Of course there are people who are more judgmental and don't seem to understand the most basic Christlike character of service and charity, but basing our activity and studies in this church on the conduct of others is pure idiocy. Our religion and God's purpose for us is to soak up as much truth as we can and to study and to become and to not take the easy way out of things by stepping away from the church because we think "the members are way too judgmental". Our attitude should be to be the change that we'd like to see--to be the example of acceptance and Christlike service that we wish we could see in our wards or branches. Let's think a little less about what we'd like to become and a little more about what God created us to become, because I can guarantee that His vision is going to leave you a lot happier and capable. God didn't make us to be acted upon: He made us to act. We are the forgers of our faith and it is up to us to fulfill and magnify our callings in the best way that we know how, so that we can be beacons to those who otherwise wouldn't have stepped up without our example.

I love you all and I thank God every day that you're a part of my life. I'm prayin' real hard for you every day and I'm grateful that you're doing the same for me.

Love,

Sister Goochka

Week 43: April 21, 2014

Hey folks!

Did you know that in Daugavpils, they paint gigantic Easter eggs and then put them out on the main street for the whole week? It is so cool. Pretty sure that a bunch of artists are hired to do it because the eggs are rad. 

Easter was good, by the way. The weather here feels like summer and going outside for the first time without a scarf and coat made me feel like a turtle without a shell. It's just cool enough for me not to hate my life, so here's to hoping that it won't get hotter!

Speaking of Easter, I know that most of you know this already but I'll throw it in there for those of you who don't. In Eastern Europe, it's normal to walk around and tell people, "Он воскрес!" and then they respond, "Воистинну Он воскрес!" Translated, that's "He is risen (or resurrected)" and the response means, "Verily (in truth), He is risen!" It's a great conversation starter and kind of fun that people actually respond to it. Easter here is like a blend of decorating eggs and stuff like we do in America but different in the sense that it seems a little more centered on the Resurrection side of things. It's like the best of both worlds. There are also lots of Easter desserts, like this raisin bread frosted muffin thing with jelly candies on top. Not altogether unpleasant, but the lemon-blueberry pastry that some members gave us was better. Also, there are cookie things that I remember Jared introducing me to just before I left that look like nutshells but inside there's sweetened condensed milk. 

We finally got to meet with Zita again this week! Lidija helped us on the lesson. The lesson was similar to one that I had taught Sasha in Narva, because we made a flow chart with trust in the middle. It showed that, for one, we can trust Heavenly Father and secondly, we can trust ourselves because we have repentance and access to the Atonement. We also discussed how we have to trust Him to receive answers to our prayers and what the difference is between being worthy and being perfect. Zita couldn't answer that when I asked her and I'm pretty sure that it's a common misunderstanding. 

We also taught a woman named Inna who has been in Ireland the whole time I've been here but was finally able to meet on Friday. She's a very straightforward person and has a rough kind of exterior at first but is really nice once you get to know her. We taught her English for thirty minutes and then the next thirty minutes we basically just asked her what she wants to get out of life and what she wants to change. As always, everything she listed off is able to be fixed by the gospel. 

It's in situations like that where I always wish that people could just have the knowledge that I do. Not saying that I know everything, but I feel like the more you study this gospel, the more that it makes total sense. To me, nothing less than what we know from the scriptures and modern day revelations makes sense. Sister Roy and I were talking about it the other day, how a lot of churches are concerned about being saved, but I wonder how often they truly contemplate the meaning of "saved". Does it mean existing somewhere in the clouds abiding in eternal bliss, or playing a harp, or just floating around without pain? The only logical thing is that we continue to progress and continue to grow in our knowledge and talents, because that's what we've done our whole existence: before this life, during this life, and after this life.

I've thought a lot about how knowledge is power in its purest form. That's also something that I love about the church: we accept all truth, because we know that God is the source of truth. Taking it a little further, a scripture in D&C says "intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence": simply put, the more that we seek to learn truth, the more open we are to receiving additional truth. Mathematically, we don't learn new truths one by one (addition), but for each one truth we're opened up to many more (multiplication). I just tried really hard to express how that makes sense in my head, haha. Hopefully it worked.

It makes sense that God makes us have faith and be believing before we can have a certain knowledge, though. It's not like we give anybody who wants to be a doctor a degree and a scalpel right after they express the desire. They're required to go through school and to learn for themselves rather than have all the information told to them. It's the same thing for us in life. God's not going to raise an excellent person up just by telling them what it takes to be excellent and telling them all the truth that He knows. He raises excellent people by requiring faith and experience because we have to have our character and knowledge seared into us.

This week the sisters from Riga also came down to Daugavpils for exchanges. It was super fun because I got to be with Sister Ixtlahuac and Sister Nikolaeva: a trainee in her first transfer and a native from Narva. It's always surprising to be put with a younger sister in the mission and then realize how much you've learned because you compare it to how much they don't know. The funniest thing ever was teaching on the streets with Sister Ixtlahuac because she always, without fail, would stop the drunk and homeless people. Sister Nikolaeva and I were laughing so hard the first time that we couldn't even help her out because Sister Ixtlahuac stops this guy who we saw coming toward us. He would stop every few feet and stare at something in the distance, and his beard was stained yellow from years of smoking and drinking, and he was swaying...very obviously not in his right mind. Sister Ixtlahuac had her face an inch away from this drunk guy's face and was yelling into his ear, "Вы вообше верующий человек?" I probably slaughtered the spelling on that, but she was essentially asking, "Are you a believing person?" She's like this little ball of sunshine and she's always super happy, so it was a great exchange. 

We also started art club this week. It's kind of funny because only one person showed up and she's kind of my worst nightmare because she walked in and was like, "Let's see what you can teach me," in a challenging, awkward kind of way. I felt so weird because then she was like, "I'd like to see your art work." So I showed her a few things that I've drawn while here (one of them being a forest) and she was like, "You are afraid of the unknown. You do not have confidence in your ability to try new things and you cling to your past." Haha orrrrr I really like the trees here and figured I'd draw them...

She's a little crazy but made it fun at the same time. We're drawing self portraits so I'm frantically trying to teach myself how to draw to her standards.

Anywho, I love you all. And I guess I'll be talking to you soon? I haven't heard anything yet so I'll tell you when I do.

Have a lovely week!

Love,

Sister Goochka

Week 42: April 14, 2014

Hey folks!

What a week. First of all, I gotta tell you that I remember my trainer Sister Weaver telling me that cats are everywhere during the springtime in Latvia, but she wasn't kidding! There are 6-8 cats outside of every apartment building. Thank heavens I'm not allergic (here's lookin' at you, Smash). 

We had something really cool happen on Sunday. Earlier in the week, we had taught this lady and invited her to English and Art club. She was super nice but we didn't think much of it. Then on Sunday, she walked into the church at 11 (an hour into the Sunday morning session of conference) and I got to sit next to her and explain things a little bit. It was so cute because she brought a Bible and all this stuff that she thought she'd need. After the first session of Sunday was finished, she was like, "Well, I have a son to get home to, so thanks for everything." She took a hymn book, a bunch of Liahonas, and a Book of Mormon. We just kept talking to her and we invited her to eat lunch with us in between the sessions, so she ended up staying for that and we got to talk to her even more. It was funny because afterwards, we didn't even ask her to stay for the next session and she stayed anyways. When Elder Corbridge gave that talk on the restoration, she whipped out the Joseph Smith's Testimony pamphlet and read through the whole thing as the next guy spoke. After it was all over, we asked her what she thought about and it and she said, "I feel something good right here," pointing to her heart. "There's something special about this place." It was the perfect opportunity to point out that it was the Spirit. She agreed to meet with us on Thursday so ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I'm pumped about it.

So something that I have had on my mind lately is the fact that I have learned a lot more than I have thought to write you. Or actually, I haven't even written them down in my journal because they have been stirring around in my mind and heart. I figure I can tell you a little about the mind-blowing thing (for me, at least) that I finally wrote down this week.

I have thought a lot about how God has an individual plan for each of His children, specifically in connection to destiny and fore-ordination. I have wondered how it is possible that God’s plan for each of us is so perfect even though we aren't. How can He account for so many variables and wild cards? Doesn't our happiness depend a little too much on the agency of others? What if things were supposed to work out a certain way—if we were foreordained for something, and we didn't quite measure up? Or what if somebody else’s failure to measure up robbed us of something that we felt we were supposed to have?

Through a lot of prayer and searching the scriptures (and talking to people who are smarter than me in this respect), I have come to an answer that gives me peace.

As a disclaimer, I want to say that I have always been wary of the word “destiny”. It’s a word that I automatically assign to anime romances that 12-year old girls. It seems to me that the whole concept isn't weighted in reality, too fluffy to be substantial, and inconsistent with the fundamental principle of agency. I’ll come back to that later.

So how can our plan be perfect if we are not? And just as important, how can our plan remain unblemished by the mistakes of others?

The first truth that we must account for is that God wants to give us everything that He has, holding nothing back.

That means that each of us has a personal, individualized plan of how we will make it back to Him and, further, how to gain all of the knowledge and experience that He has. Of course He provided one path (His gospel), but that path will look and feel different to everyone. 

Something I had always assumed was that God has one blueprint for each of His children. This blueprint contains what His child was foreordained to do and become. If the person doesn't follow that, then they lose the life that they were supposed to have and ultimately fail.

Well, that's obviously not true. What I didn't understand is that God doesn't plan our salvation on 2-D planes because we aren't 2-D creations. His plan for each of us is much more complex and perfect. Because He is determined to endow us with the same power and glory that He has, He doesn't just give us options A-D. It's more like A-Z^10. He has planned for way more than one detour from a life lived perfectly, which further proves that He is perfectly fair to me. He has a plan for us that allows for flaws just as equally as it allows for perfection. And what's even more--they all eventually end with inheriting all that He has and living in eternal happiness.

Whether you went with Plan A or Plan Z^5, the reward is the same. Which brings me back to destiny. Maybe it would be better defined as Plan A: the original and most flawless plan. Since it is impossible to stick to Plan A (Christ was the only one to ever do that), we can take comfort in the fact that there is Plan B, C, and so in, which are all pretty similar. The closer we live to Plan A, the more likely we are to fulfill our destiny...or maybe that's just a fancy word for fore-ordination.

Likewise, the further that we get from Plan A, the more complicated and difficult our lives become. Yes, our reward is the same and peace comes eventually, but we aren't here only to wait for a future time to have an enduring happiness. It is our task today and everyday to live worthily enough for God to bestow His peace upon us. It is our task today and every day to stick close to Plan A because that is the quickest path to lasting happiness. 

The second truth to account for is that the Atonement is the power that makes all of this possible. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is what gives us more than just one option. That's why Plan A and Plan Z^10 have the same reward--Christ will plead for the repentant soul. His Atonement makes all disadvantages and unfairness null and void. He descended the very lowest of us all, and it's from that depth that He has the capability to redeem. Conversely, He has ascended to a fullness of glory and can lift us to that very same height. 

The more that I study the Atonement, the more my eyes are opened to God's impeccable attention to detail in His plan for us. The Savior is not only perfect, but He is the perfect Savior. He's felt the weight of a universe's imperfections, flaws, degeneracy, mistakes, disappointments, offences, crimes, complaints, missed opportunities, and guilt--not to mention the physical aspect of His suffering--and despite all of it, He can still see us with every ounce of love and potential that we were created with.

Our "life plan" that I've been talking about is only functional because Christ was worthy in all things. That's why God is able to continue pouring out blessings upon our heads even though we have long since departed from Plan A--One came before us, lived His Plan A, and consequently enabled the Father to exercise mercy and give us as many opportunities as we're willing to take to keep us on the path back home (Plan B, F, P, Z^9). 

I feel like my understanding of gospel principles is so elementary, and that I've only seen the tiniest glimpse of the vast amount of truth that there is to learn in this life. It reminds me of D&C 88:47, and how God's power is just everywhere, whether we recognize it or not. The power of the Atonement moves our lives forward from mistake to triumph to regression to progress and so on. I'm pumped to learn even more, because there's always more to a principle than we think.

Sorry if you the feel like this was a preachy letter. I'm honestly just really excited about this new discovery and I hope that it's as cool as I feel like it is. It's totally possible that, as a missionary, my definition of "cool" has changed a little :)

Real quick, the other day we were in a hurry and we walk everywhere here, so I was trying to walk super fast. But, you know, my little legs can only go so fast. So I put my head down in order to get the best aerodynamics (sp?) of the wind and just charged forward. Sister Roy was laughing so hard because I looked like a babushka in a storm with the hunched back and a fire in my heart. We've dubbed it the turbo-bab and it's the walking sensation that's sweeping the nation.

Also, Anna is teaching me Latvian. Don't know how good of an idea that is seeing as I still don't have a firm grip on Russian but it's fun! It sounds just like Lithuanian but the words are shortened.

Anyways, I hope that this week is really great for y'all. Everyone should read and reread The Priesthood Man by President Eyring, because that one pretty much blew my mind. 

Love you to the moon. 

С любовью,

Сестра Гуч

Week 41: April 7, 201

So the first picture is of Sister Nikolaeva and I in Riga with a pillow, randomly. We love pillows?

The second picture is of Sister Roy and I on the train from Daugavpils to Riga. Can I tell you how much better trains are than buses? So much less crowded and clean. We had exchanges there with Sister Benson right after zone training was finished. It was fun to see a few of the missionaries that I haven't seen for a while. And actually, a perk of serving in Latvia is that President Boswell sometimes comes for zone training. He gave me permission to do an art class and told me to call Sister Suisse, who's part of a senior couple in Vilnius. She's been teaching art for quite a few years and she gave me a lot of ideas on what to do for it. We're printing the fliers and starting advertising tomorrow, so yaaaaaaaaay!

We also went to eat at the famous Muffins & More right next to the church. It's one of those place that missionaries have been going to for a long time and it's delicious.

Our exchange in Riga was so good though. It was funny to be back with Sister Benson after a few transfers and to see how we've both changed but at the same time how nothing was different. We were able to teach a babushka named Nadyezhda, as well as her niece, Tanya. I've never met someone with so much spunk. Well, first of all, we walked in and she immediately showed us this door mat that she was sewing upside-down bottle caps to. She was pumped because if you step on it for twenty minutes or so, it's a free massage. So funny. She also tried to talk us into marrying guys from Latvia so she can see us more often, haha. She's a super loving person and I felt so at home with her. We talked about the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, focusing on the love of God. It was cool to teach someone like Tanya that because she told us that the love her parents gave her was very conditional. The whole time it was obviously an interesting topic to her, but she was busy sewing the bottle caps onto the rug and her son stopped by the apartment and a few other distracting things happened. I sat there pleading with Heavenly Father in a silent prayer that I would be able to communicate just a small portion of the love that He has for her, and it was cool to see what happened. I turned towards her and testified that I know that God's love is unchangeable; that there is nothing we can do to make it increase or decrease. I told her that because He loves her, she was born with a potential so great that she can't even comprehend it, but that Heavenly Father is more than willing to reveal it to her line upon line, and that process starts with simple steps like daily prayer and scripture study.

She had set down her sewing while I spoke and when I finished, she came over and gave me a hug with tears in her eyes. It's an amazing thing to tell someone exactly what Heavenly Father wants them to hear. 

But anyway, Daugavpils is so good. We have been working a lot on creative ways of finding and teaching. Sister Roy and I both love to figure out different and more effective ways of doing things, so it's been a funny few weeks of testing out new ideas and laughing at the things that went horribly wrong.

We ate at President Spalvens' house with all of the missionaries, which wassooo good. It was classic Latvian/Russian/European cuisine: potatoes, pork, dill, onions, pickles, a salad made of cabbage and carrots and those white carrot things. All of our plates were spilling over with the grease and meat but it was delicious. I've learned by now how to eat a massive amount of food. The trick is no liquids until after the solids have been eaten, just in case you were wondering.

Anywho, the Spalvens are awesome. As a tradition, they have missionaries sing three hymns before eating but we only had one hymn book in Russian so we all tried to pick ones that we knew. It was hilarious too because Elder Hansen and his eyes-closed-100%-serious-serenading face was on the whole time. Can't get enough of it.

Something kind of funny that happened yesterday was when we were teaching by some train tracks and we went to approach this lady when she starts running at us and just snatches the Book of Mormon out of Sister Roy's hands. I don't really understand why it happened but I guess she stole the best thing that she possibly could have.

Life is really good here in Dpils though. I'm loving it more with each day that I'm here and Heavenly Father has blessed me especially lately to find the humor in the situations that I'm in. One of which was that in a lesson last night with the elders, one of us accidentally said, "When Christ was born, there were three forks that we know of that brought him gifts." Forks, wise men...it's all the same.

I love you all and hope you have a lovely week!

С любовью,

Сестра Гуч

Week 40: March 31, 2014

Hey, fellas! I don't even know how to start these things anymore, so it's probably just going to get weird from here on out.

The picture of the little house with the Latvian flag was just one of the many times during the day that I look around and realize how picturesque the Baltics can be. The other picture attached is mostly there because I wanted to support my case that Daugavpils is the perfect place for a zombie apocalypse. I don't even like zombies so I'm not sure why I feel so strongly that you need to be convinced of this but anyway, there you have it.

We had a stellar week here in Dpils. One of the reasons that I loved serving in Narva was because the members are awesome, and I'm more than happy to say that Daugavpils isn't lacking in amazing people, either. 

I remember serving with Elder Bell and he told me a lot about a girl that he taught named Anna in Daugavpils, and how she's the coolest girl ever. It's really cool that I finally got to meet her and see that he wasn't exaggerating. Anna is Latvian but she speaks a bunch of other languages, English and Russian being two of them. We did an English lesson with her, which means that we just had an hour to talk to her in English for practice. It was fun to get to know her and really cool to see how much the gospel can mean to someone who hasn't had it their whole life. There have been a few people on my mission that have been familiar to me from the moment I met them, and she's one of them.

We taught Zita, our investigator, on Thursday. Lidija Spalvens helped us again because she's the world's greatest and it went so well! Zita is another one of those people that I just loved from the second I met her. She's really sensitive to the Spirit, so it's cool because you can tell from her physical reaction when something that you say was inspired. We taught her about the 10 Commandments and why we follow commandments in the first place, using "Obedience to Law is Freedom" by Elder L. Tom Perry. Or at least, I think that's what it's called. It's awesome when you can get to the end of a lesson and before you even extend a commitment, the person has already decided for themselves what they need to do. Zita said, "I've had a feeling that I need to come to all three church meetings on Sundays." She's a lovely human being, because she actually followed through with that and came to all of church this Sunday.

Another cool thing about this week is that we have been planning our faces off. I know that doesn't sound pleasant but I realized this about myself: I love to plan, whether it be parties, activities, English, or art courses. Speaking of which, we're starting an art class! I have had to (or rather, been able to) coordinate a little with Sister Dalley over the phone what kind of curriculum we need for that. We had the idea when we were together, but I'm pumped because I actually get to do it here!

Anyway, sorry I don't have a lot of time today because I spent most of it responding to individuals but I love you! Keep me updated on your lives, alright?

Sister Gooch and Sister Roy

Week 39: March 24, 2014

Hey folks!

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