"...thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me.": Week 33

August 24, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

Monday-
Today we had the opportunity to show these four girls from Utah around a little bit. We showed them this super authentic Lithuanian restaurant, then we helped them get bus passes and exchange their money. It was really fun to spend some time with people from America. They are here to teach English to little kids for four months and they are all members. In the evening we all went to the Bruce's for Young Single Adult FHE. It was fun, we played sand volleyball and soccer again.

Tuesday-
Early this morning we had a lesson with Gerda. Gorda is this really cool girl who Sister Seaman and I had met on the street. It was her birthday on Sunday, so this week to celebrate she will be going to Spain. She was able to meet with us. It was a really good lesson. She had a lot of really good questions and she was really just trying to understand. She has never believed in God, so it is a little bit of a new concept to her. She is very eager to learn more. Every time she is with us or in the church she says she feels good. I know that she can feel the Spirit and I believe it is a new feeling to her, she really likes it. Later in the day we headed back to the church to help the Elders in a lesson with this girl named Janina. She was a super cute girl who during the whole lesson just was crying her eyes out. She said some things about her Dad dying and her Mom being sick. It sounds like she has had a hard life and has been lost for awhile, but she accepted baptism in the future. She seems very prepared.

Wednesday-
Today Sister Seaman and Sistery Hayes came to do an exchange with us here in Kaunas. Sister Hayes is a Russian speaking missionary who is serving in Vilnius. I had my exchange with Sister Seaman and Sister Neeley was with Sister Hayes. I love Sister Seaman, she is super bubbly and happy and I love when I get to spend time with her.

Thursday-
Today we continued our exchange and we talked to a lot of people. For a little bit we tried taking off our tags and putting away our Book of Mormon's. Everyone was so much happier when we spoke with them, they tended not to just no want to talk with us right away.

Friday-
Today we had Zone Training in Vilnius. Before, we got to have interviews with President Harding. It was really good to see him and talk with him and receive counsel. He is so inspired and I can really tell he cares about us missionaries. After my interview before zone training began one Elder had bought and cooked cow tongue. He was having everyone try it, then he would give us bread afterward. So today I tried cow tongue. I can say it was like chewing on a tongue. Sister Harding even tried, I was surprised. We then had zone training. We had a big discussion about some questions about faith in Jesus Christ. It was really good and I am beginning to understand not just faith, but faith in Jesus Christ and the difference between the two.

Saturday-
Today we got to go out and help one of our members, who is pretty old, pick apples off of his tree. His name is Povilis and he is a super sweet old man. We picked apples for about 5 minutes and then he said that was enough. I guess he wants them to ripen more and then we will go back next week and pick the rest. Tonight we had a lesson with Juozas and we found out that he hasn't drank coffee in a week. I am really proud of him. He wasn't sure why, but he tried it out anyway.

Sunday-
Today was really good. We had another American show up for Sacrament meeting. I guess he will be here for four months as well, and he has a wife and a baby who will be joining him soon. Elder Bruce started teaching an English Sunday School class for all of the English speakers. It will be good, we will have about 7 people in his class as soon as his wife joins him here in Lithuania. Today Sister Neeley had to translate Relief Society for the new girls in the branch. It was her first time and she did really well. It is hard because technically, she should be in Young Women's since she is the counselor, but we decided when she wasn't teaching we could go in and translate. I don't know what we will do for the Sunday's she will be teaching. I might have to do it, who knows.

Love,
Sister Brown