Week 15

April 20, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

Monday-
Today was so good, we are determined to eat healthier, so all we bought at the grocery store was produce. After that we came home and we cut up all of the vegetables so that we would actually eat them. We then went to this delicious Mexican restaurant. I did not even know they had Mexican food in Lithuania. It is probably the only one in all of Lithuania. We then got to go to the senior couple's apartment for Family Home Evening with the singles in the branch. It was really fun, we played a game where we all had two slips of paper and we had to write on them something the others did not know about us, then we all put them in a bowl and we took turns reading them and guessing who they belonged to. It was really fun.

Tuesday-
Today we had a lesson with Jurga over Skype and it went really well. The lesson was about attending church and the importance, we had a member there who was amazing, she was so good, she is the Relief Society president, her name is Emilija. Before our lesson we got to watch some of General Conference. I was so excited to watch it in English. I really enjoyed President Eyring's talk about fast offerings. I thought it was really powerful with the emotion he was able to show while he shared stories.

Wednesday-
Today we had zone training. It was really good, the mission is really shifting their focus from meeting with active members to finding. They compared the branches to having a broken bone and the cast as the missionaries. When the bone is healed you need to take the cast off, or your arm will become weaker and weaker and you won't be able to use it. Now is the time for the cast to come off and the brace to go on. We can still support them and help them, but our focus is not in having lessons with active members. Sister Penrose and Sister Seaman spoke about companionship unity and attitude. when Sister Seaman and Sister Penrose were companions they did not get along at first, but they made list of everything they were doing by the end to turn it from the worst companionship to the best. It is a really good list and will be super helpful in our future companionships, with our spouses even. They also shared a poem that I loved, "inside each of us are two wolves...one is evil: It is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. One is good: It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. Which wolf wins? ...the one you feed the most." I really liked it. I have found so far on my mission that "what you focus on increases," especially in my companionships. I find that as I look for those things I love about them, I tend to notice them rather than vice versa, looking for what bothers me. Same with the work, look for the things you like in the work rather than the things that might not be as fun. I also got to by in my first branch council this evening since Sister Seaman is Young Women's president.

Thursday-
Today Sister Seaman went on exchanges in Vilnius, so it was Sister Bestenlenher and I together again. We had English, where we only had one student. We read from the restoration pamphlet, we then went and walked around and spoke with people.

Friday-
Today Sister Bestenlenher and I were out walking around doing stop by's and it was sunny with a few clouds in the sky, then all of a sudden it gets really cloudy and it starts to sprinkle, then it started to pour and then it started to hail and it hailed for a good half hour before it turned back to rain. We were soaked, but it was really fun. We then got to participate in a lesson with a recent convert of the other sister's, Ade. We taught about the Plan of Salvation. It was great, he was just able to testify and talk openly.

Saturday-
Today we got to do a service project. We were scraping paint off of the walls in this dome (apartment building). It is a really old building, so if I get lead poisoning it is from doing this service project, we were covered in dust and paint chips by the time we were through. The woman we were doing the project for was a very sweet old lady and she fed us some apple cake and juice. We get to go back next Saturday to help some more. I am really excited because I am really starting to understand the language more and more everyday. I know that Heavenly Father is helping my understand since I am continuing to try to speak with and understand people. I am so grateful.

Sunday-
Today, right before Sacrament meeting, I am informed that I might have to go up and introduce myself and share my testimony. I didn't even have any time to prepare. Right away I pull out a paper and pen to start writing in Lithuanian what I want to say. Luckily, the woman who was supposed to speak showed up, so now I will not have to do it until next Sunday, I have more time to prepare now. The woman who showed up at General Conference Sunday last Sunday came to church this Sunday. I was so excited when I saw her. After Sacrament meeting she wanted us to do this survey about stress and religion, she must be doing some kind of research on how religion affects your stress level. She wanted all of the people between the ages of 20-25 to do it. I am afraid all of the missionaries may have skewed her research a little.

Love,
Sister Brown

 Me and Sister Seaman after getting caught in the rain and hail.

 Sister Seaman and I after the service project, we were so dirty.

 Eggs that we dyed.

 Silly with Sister Bestenlenher.

 Caught in the rain and hail with Sister Bestenlenher.

 Silly with Sister Seaman. 

Week 14

April 13, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

Monday-
Today was my first preparation day with Sister Seaman and it was really fun. Our area is beautiful! We got to walk around a little bit in the old town and it looks like something out of a movie or a picture, it is beautiful. We went to this restaurant called Forto Dvaras where they serve traditional Lithuanian food. I ate Blynai, which is just potato pancakes, they were delicious. We got to visit a member's house tonight, their names are Valdas and Kamilla. Veldas is so cool, he is the branch mission president and Kamilla is a Young Women's advisor.

Tuesday-
Today Sister Seamn and Penrose, who are the sister training leaders, left Sister Bestenlenher and I alone in our area. We will be together until Friday night. It is pretty interesting since we both just got out of training and don't really know what we are doing. Sister Bestenlenher knows a little better than I do since she had to do this with Sister Madison throughout their training. I was pretty nervous, especially, I don't know how to get around in our area at all. We were able to teach Sister Penrose and Sister Bestenlenher's English class, that was fun.

Wednesday-
Last night the elders called and asked if we could help out in a lesson they have today, and now we have to teach with them in Lithuanian. We were so nervous all day, ten about an hour before she had cancelled so we got out of that one. I was so nervous. We also got to have a lesson with Jurga over Skype, which went really well. We got to have a lesson with our new investigator, Ade, who is Nigerian, who is here for studies. That was in English, so I wasn't quite as nervous for it.

Thursday-
Today we had to go to the bank and try to open a bank account for me. We asked a member whose name is Agne to come with us and help us, she speaks English really well. We went and they said it may take up to 3 days to set it up and we needed it set up for tomorrow. We had to figure something else out. I guess that Lithuania owes me money for the complications with my application, the only way they can pay me that is through a bank account. Kestutis, who is the member who helps the missionaries with their immigration sent me his information so they can send it to his account. Tomorrow will be interesting. Sister Bestenlenher and I have to go to immigration and this tax place all by ourselves and try to communicate what we need. We will see what happens and we will pray that we will be able to understand them.

Friday-
Today Sister Bestenlenher and I got to go to Siauliai and finish some immigration work. It was a crazy day, we had to walk back and forth a lot between immigration and tax inspection to try and get reimbursed. It was so good to be back in Siauliai, it felt like home. I was excited Sister Bestenlenher got to see Siauliai for the day. Kaunas is a lot different than Siauliai. Kaunas is a little overwhelming with all the people and everyone hurrying everywhere. They are not quite as friendly as in Siauliai. In Siauliai you can say hello and they will say it back and smile, but not in Kaunas, they just ignore you and keep walking. I am sure I will get used to it. Being away from Sister Seaman for these few days is really helping me stretch and become better. I am getting better at bus contacting and I am starting to understand more.

Saturday-
Today we got to watch conference. It was a long day of trying to listen to the Lithuanian and understand it. My head felt like it was going to explode after the first session. It was so warm today, I am excited it is beginning to look like Spring.

Sunday-
Today we had conference again, we made muffins and cookies to bring to share. It was fun. We also made a healthy eating plan for the next transfer. I am pretty excited about it, I really think it will help me feel better and healthier. We are pretty much only going to buy produce tomorrow while grocery shopping.

*Nothing specifically happened that made him decide to take us out, he had just been thinking about it for awhile now. Everything is good, I am safe and happy. I do miss Siauliai, though. We got to go back to finish up some things with immigration and it felt like I was home. I know that Kaunas will begin to feel more like home as I spend more time here. I already love the members. Kaunas is quite large and easy to get lost in, all of the people are super busy and not very friendly. Sister Seaman is wonderful, she is such a good missionary, she has been out for almost a year and will go home in October. She is really good at being clean and eating really healthy, which is great. She is teaching me good habits that way, as well as good missionary habits, as well as the language. I feel like all of the other sisters in the mission are afraid of the language, but not Sister Seaman. All we bought today for groceries was produce. We will basically only be eating maybe a green smoothie and half a grapefruit for breakfast, lunch we will just stir fry some vegetables and maybe potatoes in coconut oil, then the same for dinner. I might be hungrier for a few days, but we are not eating chocolate, bread, cheese, or sauces like ketchup or mayo. We will eat chicken, but not really red meat so much. The apartment is great, maybe not as nice as the last one, but it has a great view of this really cute walking street that can be quite noisy at night when we are trying to go to sleep, but I am getting used to it. It is also quite bright in our room in the night because of the lights on the street. I love it though, it is fun to people watch. I will send you pictures. We got to watch General Conference on Saturday and Sunday. It was really hard to pay attention when I couldn't really understand it that well. I found out that we get to watch some of it in English on Tuesday, so I am super excited for that. I am also excited to read them next month. In between the morning and afternoon session of conference on Sunday we had someone just walk in off the street, her name was Kristina and she was super nice. She wanted to see Sister Seaman's Book of Mormon and while we sat there watching General Conference she read the introduction and the testimonies in the beginning. She went to leave and Sister Seaman gave it to her. She was sweet, I hope she continues to read the Book of Mormon. We really do have the best family! Thank you for everything you do for me. I loved your package, I finally got it on Thursday. Sister Seaman also loved it. Those scarves are way cute. Thank you!

I know that the Gospel has blessed my life and I know that it will bless the lives of all of these people her in Lithuania. I am so excited for when I can feel less restricted by the language and just freely speak about the Gospel all day, everyday!

Love,
Sister Brown

 Sister Bestenlenher and I.

 Sister Seaman and I with our new scarves.

 Cute Easter things.

Week 13

April 6, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

Monday-
Today we go to go to the Hill of Crosses. It was one of the worst days we could have chosen to go, it was freezing, but it was really fun. The wind was blowing and it was raining, we had to walk 2.5 miles total in it. It was really fun, but all my pictures look like I just took a shower.

Tuesday-
Last night we received a call about our transfers right before bed, we were so excited after we got them we couldn't sleep. I am being transferred to Kaunas and I will now be companions with Sister Seaman and Sister Hoskin is finally being transferred away from Siauliai after serving there for a year. She will be going to Klaipeda serving with Sister Madison. There will no longer be sisters serving in Siauliai. I am so blessed to have served there before they closed it to sisters. We had our last district meeting with our district and we all were able to bear our testimonies. Then we found out that maybe we wouldn't be leaving Siauliai as soon as we though because immigration had not accepted my visa application yet, so we had to wait and find out what was going on with that. We had to wait around and not know what was going to happen. We went around and said goodbye to all of the members.

Wednesday-
Today we are still in Siauliai waiting to hear about what will happen with immigration. We were able to stop by some more member's houses and we also got to go to the youth activity which was bowling, it was super fun. I can now say I have bowled in tights.

Thursday-
Today we finally got to go to our areas. We had to go to immigration and figure everything out. After that we got the okay to leave Siauliai. We traveled to Kaunas where we all spent the night, then Sister Madison and Sister Hoskin left early the next morning. Kaunas is a lot bigger than Siauliai, but it is also beautiful. I am a little nervous, but I think it will be great, I fell like I am going to be stretched and will grow a lot more. Sister Seaman is excellent at the language, so I am hoping I will learn so much from her.

Friday-
Today was my first whole day in Kaunas. The buses here are crazy and it is super hard to find your way around, but we had a service project to clean up the outside of the church. I met a few of the members there, so it was really fun.

Saturday-
Today we had two baptisms in Kaunas, one was Vytautas and the other is Nigerian and his name is Ade. They were so good and the first time I got to attend a baptism in Lithuania. Before the baptisms we got to help the other sisters teach a lesson to Ade and he brought his Nigerian friend who is also named Ade who is not a member. It looks like Sister Seaman and I will get to teach him since he lives in our area. Ade already has a lot of faith, he knows the Bible so well. It was really exciting. We also had a district meeting with President and Sister Harding since they came for the baptisms and were staying for church the next day. It was a really good district meeting.

Sunday-
Today was super good, it was my first Sunday in Kaunas so I got to meet a lot of new people and I also got to sing in their choir for their special Easter program. It was really good, they have so many members. It is going to be really hard to get to know them all. They were all really nice. We are also the Young Women's presidency, so we were in Young Women's, it was really fun. There are three young women, although, only two of them were there. We had a really delicious Easter dinner with the senior couple, they had invited us over and it was super delicious. The two Ade's also came, when we were leaving we all took the same bus. Sister Seaman invited the baptized Ade to come and do missionary work with her, he was a little hesitant, but he went with her to talk to this man. It was so good, then, at Ade's bus stop, that man got off the bus too and Ade continued to talk to him. Super neat, he will make a great missionary.

*They took the sisters out of Siauliai because it was a little dangerous, we had some very interesting things happen, but don't freak out, I am completely safe. Everything is new, I kind of wished I could have stayed in Siauliai a little longer, I felt like I was just getting the hang of things. I was also a little nervous to be with Sister Seaman, she is sort of intimidating to me, but she is super nice and way good at the language.

Love,
Sister Brown

 English class.

 The front of Siaullai's church.

 District meeting (left to right): Me, Sister Hoskin, Elder Armstrong, Elder Aidukiaitis, Elder Norman.

 Matias, Magnus and I.

 Armenis.

 Magnus.

 Elene and I.

 Jolanta and I.

 Jurgita and I.

Week 12

March 30, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

Wednesday-
Today was so much fun. We took our preparation day today since we weren't able to have it on Monday because we went to Kedaniai to visit our investigator, Jurga. Today we were able to go to this beautiful house called the Chaimo Frenkello Vila. This house is closed on Monday's so we were excited to have this opportunity. It only cost 3 euros for both of us to tour the house. It was neat, they had these cool translators for us where we type in the number that we are at and it tells us about it. There were lot's of old paintings with really neat stories behind them. It was beautiful, I felt like I was in Pride and Prejudice. After that we were able to go and visit Irena and gave her the pictures that we had taken with her. She was so cute, she just goes on and on about them and how beautiful they are. She had Sister Hoskin write on the backs of them, then she gave us each a kiss on the forehead. Lithuanians are very touchy and kiss people. Jolanta also gives us many kisses whenever we give her something. It is so sweet, I really like it.

Thursday-
Today we had a lesson at Skaiste's house with Jurga over Skype. It was so good, we had planned to talk to her about personal revelation and commit her to praying about marrying her boyfriend. I really think having Skaiste there for that lesson was important. Skaiste can relate, she has had to make many changes in her life and she prayed about marrying her husband and they both have young children. Skaiste was able to talk to her about the importance of this decision and got her thinking about talking to him about the church and about what she wants in her future. It was a really good lesson. We also did some stop by's today, we got on the wrong bus, so we did stop by's in that area instead of the area we had planned, but the Lord knew we were not on the wrong bus. We went to this one door, she didn't answer, so then we knocked on her neighbor's door and we ask about her and if she lived there. She was so nice, we talked about the Gospel a little bit and she seemed interested, but had things to do. She gave us her phone number and sounded like she was interested in meeting. This is becoming a very common occurrence, just miracle after miracle. We then had our English class where Romas, one of our students, had a questions about the reading and I thought, "wow, he finally did the commitment." We can never get him to do the commitments, so I tried to answer his questions, but he is always trying to argue with us and tell us that these things are not true. I just had to testify that it is true and walk away. He really is super sweet, I wish his heart would be softened toward the Gospel rather than trying to disprove it all of the time.

Friday-
Today we were able to have a lesson with Jovita, she was so sweet. She has a book where all of the missionaries write a cute little note to her. She gave me it to write in, she must know that transfers are coming. Our lesson was about Easter and we gave her links to make a chain with a scripture on each link, there are just enough to do one a day until Easter and the scriptures are about events leading up to and about the Resurrection. I think it will be fun for her to do. Before we went to Jovita's we had to go to center to send some paperwork. On the way back we were walking down Vilniaus Gatve, which is a cute walking street with stores and things and we saw a man with a megaphone and all of these people dressed up and acting, it was so fun to see. There was a lot of excitement in the air.

Saturday-
Today we got permission to go to Klaipeda with our Relief Society sisters for a Relief Society birthday activity. First we went to the church and we met the Relief Society sisters in Klaipeda and we ate some delicious food. Then we all got to go to this placed called the Dolphinarium where we had to take the ferry to the sliver that is separated by the sea, then we saw a show with dolphins. It was not quite what I expected, but it was definitely interesting and fun. It was a Lithuanian TV show called "Delphiniai ir Zvaigdzes," which means Dolphins and the Stars. They had Lithuanian celebrity judges and maybe the performers were stars as well, I am not sure, but it was pretty much like dancing with the stars except they would perform with the dolphins. It was very interesting, they had hosts and everything. They even had a musical group perform, I think it was called Mango, it was one Lithuanian group. It was really fun though. It was such a long day, we had to leave for the bus station at 6:45 and we didn't get back until 9:00 PM. We are exhausted from trying to understand Lithuanian all day, but it was completely worth it.

Sunday-
Today we taught our last primary class. We are pretty positive that all sisters will be transferred out of Siauliai, they will only have 2 sets of elders rather than one set of sisters and one set of elders. They opened another sisters apartment in Klaipeda, so they will have two sets of sisters there. I am a little nervous, I don't know where I will be and who I will be with yet, but we will find out Tuesday. We just tried to take tons of pictures with all of the members today.

I feel like I am really catching on to the language, the other day we had a lesson with Jurga over Skype with Skaiste, our member, and I didn't have any time to prepare for the language part of it, I was so scared. I had no idea what I was going to say before hand, but I was able to do it and speak in complete sentences with some help from Skaiste, she speaks English really well. Sister Hoskin is really good at the language, she still doesn't know everything, but she can speak enough to get her messages across. The young people know a lot of English, but the older ones, which there are a lot in Siauliai, don't know much but maybe a few words.

Love,
Sister Brown

Vilniaus Gatve Celebration